Johnny Cash enjoyed the Red Barn near Gibbons so much he played at the venue twice.
“The second time, he actually wasn't even scheduled. He was sitting here enjoying himself for a night. And the owner asked them to get up and play a song – he played for 45 minutes,” said current co-owner Brian Blue, relaying a story he heard about the now-green barn housed at the Lily Lake Resort.
Since the pandemic hit, the Lily Lake Resort has faced a substantial drop in business. Forced to close due to provincial restrictions, the co-owners have had no way to pay their bills.
On April 23, applications for the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant program reopened until May 31. The new payment is made available for businesses affected by the most recent public-health orders, and this time around also includes hotels, taxis, and ride-sharing services.
The province is offering eligible businesses a payment of up to $10,000.
Resort co-owner Greg Switner said they are in the process of applying for this new grant. They were eligible for the last round of grant money from the province and received $20,000.
“They give us $20,000 like they’re big heroes. Yesterday, I paid our rent, gas, electricity and taxes – (the bills are) over $20,000,” said Switner.
Blue and Switner took over the Lily Lake Resort property – which features a lounge, banquet hall, a stage, hotel, and campsite – back in 2017. The resort sat empty for eight years before they came along.
“When we walked in (the dining room) in 2017 the places were set, the silverware was there. The salt and pepper shakers were full and sitting on the table. It was almost spooky,” said Blue.
Before the pandemic hit, the resort was booking around 40 weddings during wedding season. Their corporate events and family reunions were just starting to build up.
“This takes a long time. It took us three years to get there. And then we go from flat-out busy to nothing. And then the bills don't change,” said Switner.
He said they can't survive if they keep their doors closed, but they can't open their doors because of government regulations. The property has a 20-room hotel section, but is also a destination resort – a part of their business that has been hit hard.
“Summer is going to be terrible again ... we can’t do our large functions. When the weddings come, they fill the place. We run 100-per-cent capacity for three or four days. But now we're five per cent, six per cent – that doesn't cut it,” Switner explained.
Switner said he thinks the government should be using other methods to help businesses like his – like making corporations charge less for gas and electricity or cutting interest payments on deferrals.
This would be a happy medium for them, because despite being shut down for 14 months, Switner said their bills have increased.
Blue said the uncertainty that surrounds the opening and closing of businesses makes it incredibly difficult for them to even consider opening up again.
“To fire back up again, it's not only a $20,000 investment, it's a three- to four-week build-up,” said Blue.
In a press conference announcing the new grant, Premier Jason Kenney said the province has provided the highest levels of support for small businesses per capita in the country, support worth $985 million. The new round of grant payments has a budget of $350 million.
Kenney said the government feels they have a moral obligation to pay businesses this money.
“I think we're going to see that trade in the service sector is going to take off like a rocket. After the pandemic, people are going to want to go out and enjoy themselves and patronize the kinds of businesses that have been affected," he said.
“The projections for Alberta are over six-per-cent growth this year from most banks, and so I think we're going to see a really strong second half this year. And this is one way of helping us to get to that side,” Kenney said of the grant program.
Blue has his own hopes for the summer.
“I was hoping that maybe by (July), we could start looking at even smaller functions. If we can get 150 people, you know, at least we could be getting moving and getting something going. But again, the bar keeps changing.”
