Here's how Toronto spent its first weekend in Step 3 of Ontario's reopening

This weekend, the sidewalks in Toronto are a little busier, the patios are full, and, as resident Lucie Malbeteau describes it, there’s a sense of “freedom” in the air.
As she sits in a Queen Street West cafe having brunch on Sunday, Malbeteau is experiencing the city for the first time, having moved here from France nine months ago.
"It's an amazing day, an amazing weekend," Malbeteau said.
She says the simple act of having brunch indoors feels both normal and wonderful at the same time.
"It's like, I don't know, like freedom," she explained.
The cafe, called Marvellous by Fred, is busy with a lot of walk-in traffic, and people wanting to sit down.
"It's just like something that we used to have, and now we just discover how good it is to have it back," store supervisor Melanie Ven Der Horst said.
Ontario entered Step 3 of its reopening plan on Friday, which once again allows for indoor dining and a host of other loosened public health restrictions. There’s no limit on the number of people per table, but restaurants must allow for social distancing between groups.
Gyms and movie theatres also reopened their doors Friday with capacity limits in place.
Outside Scotiabank Theatre, Davin Lengyel is about to go see the newest installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, “F9.”
Lengyel said he can't wait to share in the experience with other people in the audience.
"Movies are always a communal experience in the first place. That's what they're for," he said.
And as moviegoers trickle in on a hot July afternoon, Lengyel says watching movies and TV at home during the pandemic just can't compete with the theatre.
"It’s the large screen," he says. "It's the experience of seeing it with a group of other people you can hear them appreciate it, you can hear the ‘oohs’ and the ‘awes.’"
At an F45 gym in Etobicoke, owner Adam Meghji was cleaning up, after a weekend of nearly full classes.
He says the feeling inside was “jovial."
"The mood is just so excited. I think people are not only excited to come back into the studio to work out but also just to see other people,” Meghji explained.
After being closed for nearly nine months, gym staff said they were prepared to reopen and pick up where they left off.
"I feel like there's more optimism this time around the reopening that we're going to stay open," Meghji said.
A little more freedom, a little more optimism, and a lot of hope that there will be no looking back.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING 'Deeply embarrassing for Canada's Parliament': Rota called to resign over Nazi veteran invite
House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is facing calls to resign, after apologizing to the House of Commons for inviting, recognizing, and leading the chamber in a standing ovation for a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
Global Affairs travel advisory to India updated to include protests, 'negative sentiments' towards Canada
Canada has updated its travel advisory for India to include warnings about protests and 'negative sentiments' towards Canadians in light of a recent breakdown in Canada-India relations.
We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy
Using the new and rapidly improving ability to piece together fragments of ancient DNA, scientists are finding that traits inherited from Neanderthals are still with us now, affecting our fertility, our immune systems, even how our bodies handled the COVID-19 virus.
Four in 10 child patients face unsafe spinal surgery wait times in Canada: report
Four out of ten child patients in Canada are facing unsafe spinal surgery wait times, which could cost the health-care system $44.6 million, according to a new report that was published Monday.
Toronto woman hospitalized overseas with botulism
A Toronto woman has been hospitalized in France with a severe case of botulism after eating improperly preserved sardines at a Bordeaux wine bar.
RCMP demolish last structure at Quebec's Roxham Road migrant crossing
The last RCMP building is coming down at Roxham Road, which became an unofficial border crossing used by more than 100,000 migrants crossing into Canada from Upstate New York to apply for asylum since 2017.
Thousands of Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh as Turkish president is set to visit Azerbaijan
Thousands of Armenians streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to visit Azerbaijan Monday in a show of support to its ally.
UN rights experts decry war crimes by Russia in Ukraine and look into genocide allegations
Independent UN-backed human rights experts said Monday they have turned up continued evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces in their war against Ukraine, including torture -- some of it with such "brutality" that it led to death -- and rape of women aged up to 83 years old.
Prioritize disadvantaged people for primary care and screening access, report says
A group of Canadian doctors, nurses and other health-care providers has issued recommendations on how to make health care more equitable for disadvantaged people.