CALGARY -- Lindsay Harder prides himself on his fish and chips.

His restaurant, The Diner at Shorty’s in Crossfield also serves hamburgers and sandwiches but its the fish and chips he’s most proud of.

“Light batter, that’s the key” he says “We also make our own Caesar dressing and cut our croutons for the side salad”.

Harder is happy to be taking orders again, after shutting down for two months at the beginning of the pandemic, along with restaurants across the province

“It did hurt our sales a lot,” says Harder. “We are not set up for takeout or delivery out here so it did hurt us a lot the first time.”

Crossfield is just 50 kilometres north of Calgary - but while 2,911 people are infected with COVID-19 in the city,  just 13 are in and around this small town.

Harder says when customers from Calgary come to his restaurant, they’re often confused.

Shorty's Diner

“We do get a lot of customers coming out from Calgary to see us, or Airdrie or Carstairs,” says Harder “ they usually wear a mask, look around and see it’s a fairly safe environment, relax, get comfortable and have a good meal here.”

Despite the low case count outside the cities, the government’s latest restrictions will apply to bedroom communities as well.

The ban on fitness classes, minor league sports and late night liquor sales extends beyond the city borders - usually.

But as of Friday, HIgh River and Cochrane were still exempt from the fitness restrictions because of low COVID-19 numbers.

(Cochrane triggered its mandatory mask bylaw Monday, while there are still no mandatory masks in Chestermere.  Airdrie triggered its mandatory mask bylaw Nov.6.)

At the same time, people living in surrounding communities continue to commute to Calgary.

The mayor says he hopes the virus doesn’t make the same trip.

“The worst thing would be, not them bringing it in but them taking it out and then these places not having had a problems in the past suddenly have a huge infection,” says Naheed Nenshi “Because I tell you, if this thing hits the small towns it would spread through the town like wildfire.”

 Harder says sudden closures can devastate restaurants, which carry inventory with a limited shelf life, potentially costing them thousands of dollars.

Shorty's Diner

He hopes there are no more forced closures on the horizon, as cases climb across Alberta.

“After we (re-opened) it was phenomenal,” says Harder “People came out in droves. So we are concerned they're going to shut it down again