Press - Local businesses impacted by ongoing road blockades
Nov 12, 2020 - Mike Renzella, The Haldimand Press
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Local businesses
impacted by
ongoing Caledonia
road blockades
by Kaitlyn Clark
November 12, 2020
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The Haldimand Press
CALEDONIA—As demonstrations in Caledonia surrounding the
McKenzie Meadows development site stretch on with seemingly no
end in sight, local businesses are being caught in the middle.
Tanya Ribbink and her husband Steve started Rustic & Reclaimed
eight years ago, quitting their day jobs five years ago to put their
full attention on the growing business. This year the Ribbink family
expanded their operations by opening a second business, Rustic
Retreat, an Airbnb located at the same site on Highway 6 just
outside Caledonia.
“We installed eight-foot letters with our business name and logo on
the roof of the barn. It’s essentially a massive billboard. We had
that installed in May and it was fantastic for business because you
can see it from the highway. People would just drive in,” said
Ribbink.
“I wasn’t really paying attention when the occupation started as to
how it was affecting business. It couldn’t have been too significant,”
added Ribbink.
She noted that the effect was very noticeable once the road was
blocked: “The first time the blockade went up we went from having
60 cars on a Saturday to two. That definitely hurt.”
“We’re completely blocked off. You have to go through the OPP to
get to us. Because we’re in between Fourth Line and Fifth Line,
traffic is being routed through York. Nobody is seeing our sign
because nobody is on Highway 6 now,” explained Ribbink.
She added that she does not have an exact figure on her losses,
but knows they are significant.
Haldimand
Jarvis
Nanticoke
Oneida
Port Maitland
Selkirk
South Cayuga
Townsend
York
“All I know is that Saturdays are usually our money-making days
and they have significantly dropped off. Customers have
significantly dropped off,” she said. “We still have projects that
keep us going that have been ordered over the last few months.
Maybe I’m just afraid to look at the numbers.”
Ribbink said people are able to pass the police block to visit Rustic
& Reclaimed, which remains open, by telling the officers their
destination: “If people don’t approach them they just assume they
can’t get to us because they see the road blocked,” said Ribbink.
“One officer suggested putting a sign down by where they were.
We put a sandwich board in his cruiser and he took it down to
Fourth Line.”
Just down the road, Al Wright is facing similar problems running the
normally popular dog sports facility K9 Fun Zone.
The facility was a long-time dream for Wright and his wife, and now
hosts amenities such as a heated saltwater pool for swimming,
doggy day care, ball pit, and an off-leash area.
Wright chose their current location specifically because it is
normally a high-traffic area close to town and would make their
business a convenient spot for local dog owners.
“Now it’s a dead-end street with no traffic whatsoever,” said Wright,
noting that they rely on word of mouth “and people seeing us” for
advertising. “For our off-leash area, people can’t just drive five
minutes up from Caledonia, they have to drive 15 minutes around
to get here and another 15 minutes to get back. It’s inconvenient.”
The blockades have caused a number of logistical issues for the
business. With the business no longer being conveniently located,
they have gone from six dogs a day in their daycare to two. Wright
is concerned that those who find new daycare options for their pet
may not return even after the blockades are down. COVID
restrictions also mean they need to keep clients separated, so
missing an appointment time because of the longer drive means
customers, even ones coming from far away, are out of luck: “We
charge $25 for half an hour and $40 for an hour for the pool rentals
and we’re booked typically from eight in the morning to nine at
night, 13 hours a day. That’s $500-600 a day.”
K9 Funzone also hosts a house