After two years of stress, Montreal restaurateurs and staff quietly face heavy psychological toll
For the last 20 years, restaurant owner and chef Pablo Rojas has carved out an impressive career.
A certain saying summed it up, he said: “Do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life."
Or at least “it was like that until the pandemic hit,” he said.
Quebec will be reopening restaurants at half capacity -- again -- on Monday. But the long-term psychological toll of uncertainty and stress over the last two years has already done damage to many in the industry that will be hard to undo anytime soon.
Rojas says the pandemic has forced him to close two of his four restaurants. Still open are Le Petit Italien and Provisions butcher shop in Outremont.
Despite a successful career, even he is wondering if it’s all worth it.
“Even me, I’m starting to think what’s going to be my future for the next two, three, four years,” Rojas said.
In a recent Instagram post, Rojas tried to convey just how difficult the pandemic has been and the mental health toll it has on restaurant workers.
“I’ve seen firsthand the effect all of this is having on the mental health of my team,” Rojas wrote. “People who have been with me for years talking about suicide because there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”
For much of the pandemic, Nicole Turcotte’s dining room at Dinette Triple Crown has been closed. She’s decided take-out is the safest option to prevent any spread of COVID-19.
“For the most part, I would say that people are in survival mode,” Turcotte said.
She says staff are afraid after two years of financial instability.
“It feels like we’re on a little boat floating in the ocean and it’s been battered, but it’s still floating,” Turcotte said. “It does feel like one or two more waves cross the bow and we’re all going to bail out.”
Psychologist Dr. Syd Miller says several of his clients work in the restaurant industry. Many are more anxious than they were when the pandemic first started.
“What they’re telling me is they don’t know how much longer they can hold on," Miller said. "Hold on financially, hold on emotionally."
He says it’s not easy for someone to change careers. For many, restaurants are part of their identity and in some cases have been passed down through families.
“I’m already hearing it from some of my clients, they’re starting to think what’s the next step in terms of career or in terms of how I do this business,” Miller said.
A 50-per-cent capacity limit won’t be profitable for Rojas, but he’s just happy for his staff, who will get back to work and find their old routine.
“People that are ready to give up, people that are isolated going into work -- you don’t realize how much it’s important for you,” Rojas said.
“When you have nothing to do anymore, when you don’t need to go out, I mean, it is hard.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Russia warns Britain and plans nuclear drills over the West's possible deepening role in Ukraine
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.