N.S. restaurants struggling to stay open amid rising food and operating costs

Even though Ivan Chan's restaurant is only open four hours most days, he works 14 to 16 hours in an effort to keep everything running.

"I'm free, right? That's the only way to lower the cost right now in my place," said Chan, owner and chef of The Orient Chinese Cuisine in Bedford. 

"I try to keep the overhead low because the income stream is a lot smaller than before."

When he says "before," he's talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chan admits he's not making money — and he's not alone. According to the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, nearly half of the province's restaurants are operating at a loss or merely breaking even. 

"This is largely due to an increase in expenses, not just food costs, but also utilities, insurance, equipment, etc.," said executive director Natasha Chestnut.

"The industry has tight profit margins, sitting on average just under four per cent, so every expense or additional cost affects their bottom line."

Liz Ingram-Chambers said any restaurant making four per cent is "one that will survive." She owns Le Bistro in Halifax, and has been watching her bank account drain in recent months.

"Every day it's a fridge, it's people calling in sick, your ovens are breaking, dishes are breaking," she said. "Sometimes you get worn down a little bit in this industry, especially if you're an owner/operator."

Both Ingram-Chambers and Chan said food and labour costs are their biggest expenses. 

When it comes to food, Chan said everything seems to be 25 to 30 per cent higher than it was before the pandemic.

"And you're looking at most of the basic stuff like eggs and oil," he said. "So it's like a double-edged sword right now. You cannot do anything right at this point."

Chan said he's only increased menu prices by five to 10 per cent because he doesn't want to lose customers. 

It's the same for Ingram-Chambers. She has increased prices but tries to keep them "fairly low and reasonable."