The owner of two takeout restaurants in New Brunswick decided things were just a little too hot to handle in the kitchen on Thursday. Lenny’s Takeout owner Jamie Dionne closed his Shediac, N.B., location at 6:30 p.m. and the Moncton one at 7 p.m. due to the extreme heat. “I just felt really bad for my staff. It was really hot yesterday, they were really sweating,” said Dionne. He said the restaurants themselves weren’t hot, but it was unbearable in the kitchen. “It’s just in the kitchen. It goes a lot hotter near the fryers and the grill. I’d say it’s about 20 degrees hotter near there than it is in the air conditioning,” said Dionne. His employees were happy to go home early and Dionne received positive feedback on social media for thinking of his workers. “It was really hot. The guys had to drink a lot of water. I worked in the kitchen myself, so I know how it is. I don’t want my staff to be unhappy,” said Dionne. Lenny’s Take Out was back open on Friday, but Dionne said he would close again if the heat was too much for his staff. It’s also tough to take for the people serving food on street patios. Mexi’s Manager Jimmy Gallant said he’s gotten used to it over time. “I’ve been here for 12 years now. Some days are hotter than others. Today unfortunately is an extra hot one,” said Gallant. New Brunswick is under a yellow heat warning, with temperatures in the 30s, but feeling around 40 C with the humidex, expected across most of the province Friday. It was 33 C in Moncton late afternoon Friday, but felt like 35 C with the Humidex. Temperatures in the Maritimes soared well above averages for early July on both Thursday and Friday according to CTV Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell, with record setting heat in all three provinces. Mitchell said there isn’t a technical definition for a heat wave, but what Maritimers have experienced since Wednesday is close enough for him. “I typically consider a heat wave as three or more running days of unusually hot weather,” said Mitchell. Krista Steeves was working on a construction site in Riverview and said Friday didn’t seem as bad as the day before. “Sunscreen. Lots of water. Gatorade with electrolytes if you can. Try to stay in the shade. If you can’t, you break off every 15 minutes,” said Steeves. Cheech Chan has been delivering mail for Canada Post for 15 years and does what he can to stay cool. “It’s hot,” said Chan. “We take breaks when we need to. We hydrate, obviously. Wear a hat. Try to park in the shade so our cars aren’t super hot when we get back into them.” Daren and Sheri Beltz were visiting from Canton, Ohio, where the heat can be suffocating in the summer months. “This is beautiful today. It’s a little on the warm side, but from back at home this is much, much better,” said Beltz. “Not too bad at all. I can handle this. As long as it doesn’t get worse than this.” Mitchell said there is relief in sight for the region this weekend with a cold front starting to break the heat in New Brunswick on Saturday with all of the Maritimes experiencing lower temperatures and humidity on Sunday. How to beat the heat As temperatures rose above 30 C on Friday, many Fredericton residents staved off the heat while enjoying the sun. Dozens chose to do that at Hartt Island RV Resort and Water Park. Lalith Kuragodage came to the park to swim with his daughter and her friend. “I like the pool. It’s very fun, and you can tolerate the heat when you’re in the water,” he said. “I like the weather in New Brunswick, in Fredericton, especially in the summer, in fall, except for the winter, because I’m not used to the winter very much.” Jenna Holland took her daughter to Poppy’s Ice Cream Shop after a swim. “We have air conditioning so we’re staying in when we can. And we’ve been swimming. We have friends with pools so lots of swimming and eating ice cream,” she said. But not everyone is trying to escape the heat. “I feel fine right now, I’m not even hot right now,” said resident Zach Pugh, sitting in the shade at Carleton Park. N.S., P.E.I. heat warnings Heat warnings are also in effect for mainland Nova Scotia. Temperatures will reach the high 20s to low 30s, though it will feel close to 40 C with the humidex. Cooler conditions are expected along parts of the Atlantic coast. Environment Canada says the heat warnings will likely be in effect in Nova Scotia until Saturday night. There are no heat warnings in effect in Cape Breton. All of P.E.I. is also under a yellow heat warning Friday. Environment Canada says temperatures on the island could reach 29 C, but will feel more like 36 C. Cooler conditions are expected along the coast. “Temperatures will return to more seasonable values beginning on Saturday,” said Environment Canada. With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Anna Mandin For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
