The Death Knell for Small-Business Restaurants

"I think a lot of people who had seven months' worth of debt accrued were looking forward to some revenue to be able to start paying that off."

"Without any revenue whatsoever, it's really going to be hard for many to survive."

James Rilett, spokesperson, Restaurants Canada 

"We need to have a plan that goes until next summer. It makes no sense to me that they're putting the  mental stress and strain on people."

"I've gotten dozens of calls from restaurateurs who are having panic attacks right now."

Andrew Oliver, chief executive, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality Inc.

/www.tastetoronto.com/news/indoor-dining-to-be-banned-for-the-next-28-days-in-toronto-peel-and-ottawa

The government of Ontario on Friday announced its reluctant commitment to a new set of restrictions in an effort to decrease a massive surge of COVID-19 cases in the province's three hot spots: Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa. Ontario logged a record-high 939 new cases on Friday, leading to the imposition of the new measures which include the closing down of indoor dining, theatres and gyms for a minimum of 28 days, effective the following day. 

At the Friday news conference it was clear that Ontario Premier Doug Ford was shaken by the measures he has directed, as he repeatedly recommended to the public in the province not to neglect to order takeout. Restaurants are left with only this option. Their temporary reliance on outdoor seating while the weather was good has come to an end with encroaching winter. When the third stage of opening had been announced and they were able to open their indoor dining rooms with restrictions, restaurant owners felt they could finally operate as close to normal as possible.

That hope has now been effectively squelched, if even for a temporarily short period of time, given the previous months beginning with total lockdown, then ordering out and delivering, when they barely managed to retain the few customers' loyalty they had left. Then rebuilding with patio dining and finally indoor dining restricted to a fraction of the seating that had formerly been relied upon to keep business afloat.

 

Now, dire predictions of failing businesses as a major source of their revenue has been shut off for struggling restaurants, are rife.

The main trade association for the industry has given warning that cutting off indoor dining will remove approximately 80 percent of sales for full-service restaurants. Restaurants Canada has estimated that 33,000 restaurant employees will lose employment in Toronto alone, while 12,000 will become unemployed in Ottawa, and 14,000 in Peel Region, just north of Toronto. Projections indicate that about 50 percent of independent Canadian restaurants are set to fail in 2021, barring significant intervention.

 

Ottawa Restaurant, CTV News

 

The same day of the Friday announcement of closures in the province, the federal government announced a new rent relief program to cover up to 65 percent of rent for businesses affected by the  coronavirus epidemic, along with up to 90 percent of rent for those businesses facing the new shutdown measures, stating as well that a wage-subsidy program will be extended to December, covering 65 percent of workers' wages.

The province itself announced $300 million in funding for those businesses in the affected areas; relief on property taxes and utility bills in specific, while the government promised additional details "in the coming days", leaving business owners on tenterhooks of confusion and concern. "I didn't sleep last night. I know what this will do to businesses that are already struggling", a confliced Premier Ford stated, half-apologetically, with little option left him but to follow recommendations.

Unfortunately, the takeout Premier Ford was so anxious to underline as a partial solution to the no-indoors dining, cannot fill the earning gap for many businesses who will be faced with the necessity to take on additional debt merely to survive, and many won't.

"This 28 day temporary closure of certain businesses presents an opportunity for us to collectively realize the seriousness of what is before us, and for all of us to reset and refocus our actions towards flattening the curve and eliminating the virus."

"What's changed is the province has decided now, along with their Chief Medical Officer of Health [Dr. David Williams], that restaurants must close in the three so-called hotspots, Peel Region, Toronto and Ottawa and we will adhere to that."

"We felt that at the time the restaurant industry by-and-large was doing a very good job of respecting physical distancing, masking their employees, hand sanitizing, limiting it to six people per table. But obviously a lot has changed with this virus. The province has ruled we must follow their regulations, and we'll fully comply and support those regulations brought down by the province today."

"I've always indicated that we will follow the advice coming from the various tables at the province. We felt that the proposal we put forward of limiting six people at the table and continue to practice physical distancing appeared to be working and that was back on Sept. 30."

"Fast forward to today and obviously our numbers continue to go up and up, and that's obviously cause for great concern on our part."

"We will use this 28 day period obviously to analyze in fact if the closure of the restaurants has been effective and we start to see the numbers go down significantly, then obviously it was the right decision."

"If not, I'll have that conversation with the premier because this is an important part of the economy."

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson