THUNDER BAY - Ryden's Border Store will face a challenging new year as Canada has re-instituted the requirement that travellers crossing the border receive a PCR test upon re-entry into Canada.
"We really need December because December carries us through January, February, March which are extremely slow. So usually, December kind of carries us through," said owner Lori Boomer.
"So, it'll be a little tough from this winter, that's for sure."
Boomer and the border guards she spoke to were quite shocked to see how few people were travelling down when the border initially reopened.
"Especially that first Saturday. We had lots of help on and nobody hardly came. We have not been busy," said Boomer.
"I even talked to customs. They had extra people on and they were a little surprised to that we weren't busy."
Starting at midnight on Dec. 20, everyone who crosses the Canadian border will need to take a PCR test upon re-entry, so Boomer urges everyone to head on down and pick up their parcels before 5 p.m. EST.
"We just got our mail and we had a bigger than a normal day because people thought the border was still open," Boomer said.
"Christmas is coming, so I'm sure we'll get a lot of packages that are going to sit here and not be picked up for Christmas.
Boomer and everyone at Ryden's hopes that the border reopens quicker than the three to four weeks that people have been estimating so far.
