[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-32px|||||”]<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>Only three skaters <\/span>were skating at <\/span>the Sens Rink of <\/span>Dreams on<\/span> Friday afternoon. A change room visible in the back is reserved for emergency use only. (Photo by Zachary Delaney)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”12px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”||11px|||”]<\/p>\n OTTAWA \u2013 Skating season officially kicked off at noon Friday as the rink in front of Ottawa City Hall was thrown open to the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But just three skaters took to the ice as the rain fell on Friday afternoon at the Sens Rink of Dreams. After about 10 minutes, Joshua Finn was the only one left. After half an hour on the ice, he took his skates off for the day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[The ice] was a little wet, but not too bad,\u201d said Finn.<\/span><\/p>\n Business owners in the downtown area, like Christa Blaszczyk of Boogie and Birdie, are looking forward to the increased traffic. Hit by the pandemic, foot traffic along Elgin Street has slowed to a trickle due to public health restrictions and construction. But Blaszczyk said it\u2019s not uncommon to see patrons with their skates looking around her boutique during the winter.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe always see an uptick of people who are on the canal or the Rink of Dreams,\u201d said Blaszczyk.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ custom_padding=”||4px|||” custom_margin=”-21px|auto||auto||”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Caf\u00e9s are also welcoming foot traffic to help combat the decrease in customers since the beginning of the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alex Dhavernas, a part owner of Ministry of Coffee, says their caf\u00e9 saw a drop in their customer base at the onset of the pandemic.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A significant portion of their patrons were employees in the downtown core. Now, as some restrictions have eased, Dhavernas says they are seeing some of their regulars return.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”1_2″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Delaney.SameDay1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_text=”Delaney.SameDay1″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”||12px|||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Grey, rainy skies for the Sens Rink of <\/span>Dreams<\/span> opening at Ottawa City Hall on Dec 4. Photo by Zachary Delaney.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-21px|||||”]<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n For any small business, every bit counts. Dhavernas hopes that his caf\u00e9 will reap the rewards of skating season.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll take what we can get,\u201d said Dhavernas.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Craig MacLeod, part owner of Manhattan\u2019s Coffee Co., echoed Dhavernas\u2019s sentiments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAny extra tourism in the area will completely bump us up,\u201d says MacLeod.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the past several months, competitors in the area, including large franchises like Starbucks, have closed their doors.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ottawa\u2019s Sens Rink of Dreams opened on Friday, to a much smaller crowd than usual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":767,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions\/767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}