The Cannery Kitchen and Social in Halifax dishes out everything from comfort food to East Coast staples. They love being a meeting place where customers can connect. “I would love for people to not use their phones because I want them to connect with each other when they are sitting down eating food, so I prefer if I don’t see it but in this day and age, everything is on the phone, even booking a reservation with us,” says TJ Canonigo, Cannery Kitchen and Social food and beverage supervisor. The restaurant isn’t interested in a cellphone ban -- something that’s being tried out at certain eateries in the United States. Customers at those spots are asked to lock away their phones before entering the dining area. “A lot of people are super against it, especially with our kids using it while we are all having dinner, so for that reason I think there are some places that will apply that but I don’t think it’s going to be super and take over the industry. There will be a few places that might do it,” says Canonigo. Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau says cellphones are not part of the place setting and it’s rude to use them while dining. “Basically, you are saying, whatever is on my phone or tablet is more important than you who is here with me,” says Blais Comeau. “Remember that you should be present for the people that are there. Remember why you chose to go to a restaurant with someone else opposed to yourself. “Limit your use of technology. We all understand if you have to keep your cellphone open if your sitter is going to be calling or if you have little ones, if you have someone who is ill within your family. And if you are going to use your phone to take photographs of the food, photographs of the ambiance, make it short and remember to go back to the conversation.” The digital detox when it comes to cellphone use in these venues is something Nova Scotia hasn’t seen yet. “We haven’t seen any restaurants that are doing even a phone-free hour or shutting down phones completely. I think where restaurants are struggling, they’re certainly not going to be giving people a reason that they don’t want to go out,” says Danielle Doucette, Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia admin and research coordinator. “We have heard of restaurants and cafes that limit the amount of time people are staying if they are going to work, particularly if they are taking up space and not purchasing more food because the hope is if you are coming and staying for a long time that you would be regularly purchasing from the business.” Matthew Buchanan, a student at Dalhousie University, has noticed these measures first-hand. “There are some coffee shops that are choosing not to have Wi-Fi. It’s a kind of soft power and soft influence. They are not exactly banning people from using laptops because people sit there for a long time but without Wi-Fi they are incentivizing it,” says Buchanan. “If there are restaurants that are interested in exploring this, it might be worthwhile to start with a limited time where they are turning off the Wi-Fi or having a ban on cellphones before it becomes an all phones are banned restaurant,” says Doucette. Buchanan says he uses his cellphone based on the restaurant he’s in and the company he’s with. He doesn’t feel banning them all together is necessary. “If I am sitting on my own, I think it’s fine to watch something. If a restaurant chose to ban it, I don’t think it’s a problem, but I probably wouldn’t go to that restaurant,” says Buchanan. Others like Ismail Sadriwala say generally people should be free to do what they want in restaurants. “You are paying for it, you are going there and you want to enjoy yourself so if you have to use your cellphone, use it,” says Sadriwala. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
