By Tammy With

On January 3 the Ford government announced further measures against Omicron, and once again the restaurant business was put to sleep; but in Lambton County, two business owners are very much awake.

Tom Stoukas, owner of Athena’s diner, has been fighting for his business since the beginning of the pandemic. Opened only 3.5 months before the lockdowns began, Stoukas had managed to create a loyal customer base. Stoukas and his partner Krystal Roberts, planned to purchase the building after their first year of operations. Their business was thriving and they were in the early stages of hiring staff and plans to renovate.

When the initial lockdowns took effect in March, Stoukas followed the orders. He sat in lockdown for 5 months with no income other than the subsidies offered by the federal government and the savings he had put together from their success with the diner. They were relieved when the orders were lifted, but lockdowns left a heavy toll on restaurants. “We went from a thriving business, a part of the community, a place where people meet to…it’s a shell of itself”, says Stoukas. Then came the vaccine passports. “I was following the rules, even though I didn’t really agree with them, but I was reaching my limit, and where I did was the vax pass.” says Stoukas.

He continued to run his business as he had pre-pandemic. The business was one of only a handful of Lambton businesses that fought back against the passports. Soon Lambton Public Health was called to these businesses and they quickly stopped serving the unvaccinated, but not Stoukas. “I can’t stand for it. It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle.” says Stoukas. In the 4 months following, Athena’s received 5 visits and 3 fines for $880 each under the reopening act.

The restaurant has since acquired a local following of like minded people looking for a place to call home. “We are fighting for freedom of choice and the charter of rights. People should have the right to choose what goes into their bodies”, says Roberts.

Then on January 3, the Ford government announced restaurants would only be permitted to serve customers on a take out basis, essentially putting the final nail in the coffin for many Ontario business owners. “Once the lockdown came I decided I didn’t want to do it because it’s bad for society, it’s bad for my employees health, my mental health.”, says Stoukas. For him, the impacts of the pandemic have already damaged his business. “I’m probably not going to survive. The only way is if overnight they said no more lockdowns, no more vaxpass, open for business. But that has to happen like, tomorrow”, says Stoukas.

On January 14 they received their sixth visit from Lambton Public Health, this time they were accompanied by the Ministry of Labour and the local Police. The visit was in regards to the dining room being open in violation of the reopening act. Stoukas had the foresight to videotape the entire visit. In the video, Stoukas can be seen defending his diner as the member from Lambton Public Health threatens to lay charges if he does not comply immediately. “I used to be a businessman they came to for charity donations, now I’m a criminal”, says Stoukas.

Later that day Stoukas posted the video on facebook. Within hours the reaction from the public both near and far was overwhelming. By Saturday he was receiving phone calls from places like Ottawa and British Columbia from people who wanted to lend their support. “People say, how can I support you? I say spread the word. I want people to share with the person next to them that this is wrong and I think more people are doing that,” says Stoukas. “Open your doors, stand up. The more that stand together, the more people that open their doors and say enough is enough, the better.” adds Roberts.

Since the video surfaced, Athena’s business has been reignited, possibly even enough to save the business.

West of Petrolia, on Aamjiwaang First Nation, Sherry Stewart, owner of The Leaky Tank has been fighting a similar battle.

In business for 22 years, The Leaky Tank has shown resistance since the beginning. Shortly after defying the initial lockdown orders in March of 2020, Stewart was shut down by Lambton Public Health. “I went home with my tail between my legs for a couple of weeks. I felt like the lord was talking to me, like really Sherry, this is all the faith you have in me. So I opened back up. They came back a few weeks later and threatened me with a $100,000 fine but ended up giving me a warning,” says Stewart.

Since then, Stewart has used her restaurant as a platform to fight for freedom. “They can’t take away our freedoms, we can only give them away, and fear is the catalyst to do so,” she says.

During the fall election, Stewart lent her voice to the PPC, encouraging people to vote for a government dedicated to the people. Stewart herself has also shown an interest in politics, “I am probably going to run for council on this reserve, and I am going to gather people who are like minded because we need to take the majority of council and we need to take this place back because the government is trampling on our sovereign rights,” says Stewart.

Like Stoukas, Stewart received a visit on January 3. She, too, took video of the altercation and posted it to social media. Within hours her page was filled with support from around the globe. “Our video has reached nearly 2 million views. We had a soldier call from Hawaii yesterday to say he is just so impressed with this place, and that people like us are the reason he keeps fighting,” says Stewart.

Stewart is asking other restaurants and small business owners to join the fight. “I wish people would just open their dining rooms and not discriminate. If they push back, we are either going to see what happens in the courts or we are going to be victorious under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” says Stewart.