Rural businesses have fought to stay open during the past 18 months and are feeling division and backlash since the Alberta Governments' restrictions were announced last week.

Langdon Firehouse Bar & Grill is one of those businesses, owners Greg Thompson and Aleesha Gosling chose to comply with the latest restrictions and guidelines set out by the Alberta government in order to keep their doors open.

After announcing their decision to bring in the restrictions exemption program, requiring people to show proof of vaccination before entering they received negative backlash and harassment on social media. 

For Thompson and Gosling, the negative backlash and comments were partially what had them pause and take a step back and close their doors temporarily for indoor dining, “We were getting some kickback primarily online, I want to make it clear there was not a specific death threat but it's about as close as you're going to get, that was significant enough for us to shut down."

Along with online negativity, part of the reason they chose to close for the start of the week was that the team wanted to ensure that they completely understood what was being asked of them prior to serving their customer base, "We've gotten a lot more clarity on what our expectations are to translate that to our staff. We've addressed our security issues, we're going to add a person at the door to do a meet and greet and ask for what's required of us to have that customer come in, it's not only for security if there's backlash, but it's also to take that pressure off our server. we feel that as business owners, that's our responsibility."

Proof of vaccination is now required in Alberta for places like restaurants and bars if they want to operate with no restrictions. Establishments that do not require vaccine passports have to close indoor service.

Thompson noted that after speaking with other rural businesses they were finding a similar negative reaction from some customers along with that he said but there has been positive feedback as well.

"We're definitely not the only business that is impacted everybody is going to respond differently to this. Obviously shutting our doors, we're going to have to give some sort of explanation to the public,          our customers and why we're doing this."

This has been a tough year for many industries and the service industry has worked hard to find ways to continue to serve. Thompson expressed his gratitude to their customers and to the town of Langdon. "We can't say enough about the appreciation for the support that we've had since we opened our doors in 2017, we can't give enough kudos to Langdon and what Langdon has done for us."

Thompson expressed for every negative comment over the past few days they have received more positive comments and look forward to reopening for the loyal customers.