In Parliament Hill’s neighbourhood, businesses still feeling the pandemic pinch

From the first COVID-19 shutdowns, to people working from home, to 'hopefully being at the tail end' of the pandemic, there's still 'a lot of transition going on' in downtown Ottawa, says Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi. But local businesses want public servants back five days a week downtown.

Rose Tran, owner of Red Pepper Thai-Viet II on Queen Street, says the restaurant hasn’t seen a full house since before the pandemic. At lunchtime, even with the return of public servants to the workplace two to three days a week, there’s a 'maximum of 20 people, if you’re lucky,' she said.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Feature

BY MIKE LAPOINTE, JONAH GRIGNON

February 24, 2023

For Rose Tran, owner of her family-run Red Pepper Thai-Viet II on Queen Street, the pandemic has been brutal for business. But she's hoping it picks up now that federal government workers have been mandated back to their downtown workplaces at least two days a week beginning...

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