Despite open dining rooms, Montreal restaurants still in battle to be profitable
Montreal restaurant owners say there's a long way to go before they're profitable again after 16 months of opening and closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The biggest problem now is the debt load they've accrued throughout the pandemic,” explains Restaurants Canada Vice-President James Rilett. “Paying that back and getting into a period of profitability will take, we estimate, a year to a year-and-a-half. In the meantime, we think a lot of small, independent restaurants will have to close their doors.”
Among the challenges facing the industry, restaurant owners state that, while customers are returning to the dining rooms, there are still limits on how many people can come in at a time.
“We're at half capacity. The space that we have was reduced to 40 per cent. We went from 67 to 38 seats,” said Tota Oung of Les Street Monkeys.
Some business owners add they made some drastic changes in order to survive the pandemic.
"We turned our dining room into a prep station to make sure we provide enough food for everybody, so our dining room is not available," notes Willson Luu of Le Petit Vibe. "We do have a couple tables in the front."
Now that they've reopened, restaurants lament they're being forced to deal with the rising price of ingredients.
“We've seen a lot of food inflation due to the cost of grain going up, shipping costs have gone up a lot and it worked its way through the supply chain,” said Rilett. “We're seeing that hitting restaurants now.”
In addition, they're trying to find and keep good staff.
“We wanted them to stay with us, increase their salaries, especially in the kitchen,” said Hillary Romero with Les Street Monkeys. “That's another facet of why we would increase the pricing on the menu.”
Nevertheless, owners say they're happy to be back in business and see their customers face-to-face again.
"The support of the community, everyone whose been showing up, everyone who has been there from the jump, all the new clients, it's all we can ask for," said Eric Lazaro with Le Petit Vibe. "We have good cooks and good workers; it's the community that comes to show support."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL has suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.