Restaurant sector facing 'make-or-break' holiday season, say industry groups
CBC
This holiday season could be a "make-or-break" moment for some restaurants with the sector still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to industry groups.
B.C.'s hospitality industry is banking on a lucrative December with pandemic loan repayments due in January. But there are fears consumers will curtail holiday spending given the uncertain economic climate.
"Our margins are razor thin to non-existent," said Matthew Senecal-Junkeer, owner of two restaurants in downtown Vancouver.
"There's something really seismic happening in our sector and just hasn't been able to get out of that hole since the pandemic."
In April, he was one of many business owners voicing concerns about a "post-pandemic hangover" that was forcing many restaurants to file for bankruptcy.
According to Restaurants Canada, spending on food services remains nine per cent below 2019 levels. Nationally, 51 per cent of companies are still either losing money or barely breaking even. One-quarter are worried they will not survive unless conditions approve.
Senecal-Junkeer said both his restaurants started as daytime cafés that serve brunch and lunch, but post-pandemic office crowds never returned. Now, one of them features a wine bar in the evenings; the other morphs into either a taco stand or pizza joint at 5 p.m., depending on the night, so that the space never sits empty.
"Frankly, those side hustles are what's keeping us afloat," he said, adding that December is usually 30 to 40 per cent busier than the other winter months.
"It's bookings, it's buy-outs, it's people reconnecting with family and friends — it's usually the busiest time of the year for us."
Senecal-Junkeer said this holiday season is shaping up better than last year's in terms of bookings for office parties and other private events, but still not where it was before the pandemic.
The holiday season can make up 20 per cent of an establishment's overall revenue for the entire year, according to B.C.'s Alliance of Beverage Licensees.
"The holiday season is the absolute most lucrative time for our businesses, and I think it's going to be a make-or-break season for a lot of hospitality businesses out there," said executive director Jeff Guignard.
He noted the profits generated in December are often what carry many through the slowest months.
"We need to get money in our bank accounts now to keep our employees busy in January and February and March," Guignard said.
More Albertans are waiting longer than clinically recommended for critical cardiac and cancer surgeries, sparking concern among health experts and calls for urgent action.
There have been four collisions involving transport trucks in northwestern Ontario in three days, prompting renewed calls for action to address ongoing safety concerns along Highway 11-17.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives will huddle behind closed doors at a policy convention this weekend as some Tories question the party’s direction after nearly eight years in power.
The father of a three-year-old girl that was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Cambridge in mid-December says recent charges laid to the driver bring little comfort and relief.
The start of kindergarten can be a time of excitement or anxiety for parents, guardians and children — and also for Prince Edward Island's education officials as they try to staff schools appropriately.
Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC)’s proposed hydro project is facing some backlash in Pangnirtung.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will take to the stage Friday for what could be one of the most important speeches of his political career as he tries to convince delegates at the party's Calgary convention to keep him in the job.
As his flight departed from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route to Kuwait via Istanbul, Canadian crypto fugitive Andean Medjedovic was unaware that his globe-trotting lifestyle would soon be halted.
One of the largest taxi companies in Toronto will be down to three wheelchair-accessible cabs by the end of March, as advocates and providers say the city is failing to support accessible taxi drivers.
As a deep freeze continues to envelop southwestern Ontario at the same time municipalities deal with a pressing shortage of road salt, there's a renewed focus on finding different ways to melt road ice.
Dave Lawson is a proud Canadian who has bumper stickers that say "Canada is not for sale." He's fed up with grocery products plastered with maple leaves and patriotic logos that turn out to be American imports.
The Town of Badger has issued an evacuation order for some residents as water levels on the Exploits River continue to rise.
The head of a national seniors' advocacy organization says protecting nursing home residents from sexual abuse is an important but challenging issue.