‘It’s been a tough ride’: Roughage Eatery to shutter

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This article was published 21/05/2024 (714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Although a wrecking ball looms, Candice Tonelete had hoped to stay.

Tonelete and wife Jessie Hodel started Roughage Eatery, a vegan restaurant, along Sherbrook Street in late 2019. She learned last year the Winnipeg building she rents — plus three other lots along the road — were set for demolition to make way for a new apartment block.

Tonelete is unsure when the destruction date may come. She’d planned to stick around until then, but a series of unfortunate events — continuous building breakdowns, rising food and labour costs, a drop in customers — have led to a shortened stay.

Throw in a recent oven failure, sketchy stairs and washrooms needing repair … and May will be the restaurant’s last month on Sherbrook.

“It’s been a tough ride,” Tonelete said Tuesday. “We can’t take it anymore. It’s a lot of bad luck.”

Fate played a cruel trick roughly six months after Roughage Eatery opened: the COVID-19 pandemic rolled across the globe, bringing lockdowns and public distancing.

Since then, Roughage Eatery has made a name for itself as a vegan hot spot, selling cheeze (a spin on cheese) and seitan, sometimes called wheat meat.

Customer traffic rebounded as pandemic-era restrictions lifted, Tonelete recounted, but 2024 has been quiet. “Food is so expensive now, I don’t blame people for not going out,” she said.

Food and labour prices have jumped for the business, alongside others in the industry. Lettuce and oil alone have doubled in price, Tonelete stated.

Meanwhile, Roughage Eatery has faced several breakdowns and malfunctions within its facility.

The restaurant temporarily closed dine-in service last year when its furnace died. The air conditioning has gone, too, Tonelete relayed. Among the fixes and temporary closures, staff have been laid off.

Roughage will cap its time on Sherbrook with one last event May 30 to celebrate the city’s annual Pride festival. However, it won’t be the end, Tonelete said: Roughage Eatery plans to sell its cheezes and seitans in Manitoba shops and markets.

It is also in talks with local breweries to host pop-ups, she said.

“I think it’s important that people continue to support local,” Tonelete underscored. “It’s the small places that are really hurting.”

She’s open to moving back to West Broadway when the proposed apartment block opens; preliminary designs show a main floor of commercial space.

“I hate seeing businesses close,” said Mike Williams, operator of the nearby Korner Stop. “But in the whole scheme of things, to have 101 new people coming to the area, (you) can’t go wrong with that.”

Victor Martens, owner of Computech Camera Repair, across from Roughage Eatery, hopes to see the vegan enterprise take a space in the proposed apartment’s main floor business plan.

“Looking forward to having more restaurant spots,” he said, adding more housing and residential are good for business.

Meantime, Roughage Eatery customers shared their displeasure on social media; “a big loss” and “favourite restaurant” were repeat terms.

Paragon Design Build advertises the 126 Sherbrook St. apartment block to be built in 2026. Winnipeg city council approved the build in April.

The plans include 102 residential spaces and seven commercial ground-floor units.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com