He’s excited to welcome smiling, maskless faces back to Mehtab tomorrow.
The month of March will begin with a number of changes provincewide, as Albertans prepare to enter step two of the province's plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
For nearly two years Alberta businesses have been navigating the COVID waters and adapting operations time and again.
The food and beverage industry has been hit with closures, capacity restrictions and at times limited to delivery, curbside or patio dining.
Now, as capacity limits and mask mandates mostly come to a close, a local restaurant owner is breathing a sigh of relief.
Owner of Mehtab East Indian Cuisine, Jag Thind says that business has already picked up since removing the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) and he anticipates this move will bring more positive change.
"It's a big-time change actually," says Thind. "We were really happy when they said no more REP and no more checking vaccine passports. That was good news and we started seeing more people. I'm pretty positive now we're going to see more and more people come in to dine in."
According to Thind, his restaurant saw a steady flow of traffic pre-COVID but most business has since shifted to delivery and takeout.
He's excited to see customers' smiling faces again and serve patrons without limitations.
"It's been a couple of years since you could see expressions [on people's faces] because you don't really see what's going on behind that mask," says Thind. "So yeah, I'm really excited -- I'm a big hugger, I love to hug people."
He says that nerves also play a part in the move towards normal operations, but a smaller part.
"People still need to be responsible of course because COVID is not over yet," says Thind. "We still need to be really careful and take responsibility and if you're not feeling well stay home. I'm excited though, more than nervous."
While Thind welcomes the move to step two with open arms, he acknowledges that those hugs, handshakes and busy indoor settings may still be out of some people's comfort zones. He says that delivery and take-out services are available for anyone still preferring to go that route.