Struggling restaurants hungry for help
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4 plus GST every four weeks. Offer only available to new and qualified returning subscribers. Cancel any time.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2020 (1681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The recipe for stemming COVID-19 has been seared into our brains — wash your hands, keep your distance, and wear a mask when you can’t stay safely apart.
But there’s another ingredient Manitobans should consider adding to their pandemic menu: support your local restaurant.
The precarious plight of local eateries was made clear recently when a coalition of business and industry groups pleaded for “urgent action” from all levels of government to save the food service industry from “imminent failure.”
Coalition calls for urgent action to help restaurants
Posted:
A coalition of business groups is calling for “urgent action” from all levels of government to save the food service industry from “imminent failure” amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a blunt letter, the consortium said government help is desperately needed because revenues for restaurants are down between 60 and 70 per cent as strict pandemic restrictions continue to gobble up their bottom lines.
“No business can continue to run at a loss indefinitely,” Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, one of the signatories to the letter, told the Free Press. “And it’d be a shame if we had to let go of our local restaurants that form so much of our cities’ identities.”
The letter, featuring signatures by representatives of chambers of commerce from coast to coast, urged a host of government actions, including moratoriums on commercial rent evictions and easing tax burdens on the food and hospitality industry.
Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, said easing property taxes and fees associated with utilities and patio upkeep is essential. The coalition’s letter also asks Ottawa to implement proposed improvements to its emergency wage subsidy, to create more incentives for people to return to work, and to encourage Canadians to safely return to pre-COVID activities.
Indeed, you don’t need to be a mathematician to understand creative measures are needed if restaurants are going to keep their doors open while struggling with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with the Free Press, food supply chain expert Sylvain Charlebois suggested Ottawa look to Britain’s restaurant voucher program, dubbed “Eat Out to Help Out,” as one potential solution. The voucher program provides discounts of up to 50 per cent for dine-in customers. Items appear on the menu at full price, and the restaurant deducts the money off the bill and claims it back from the government.
“So, if you’re a family of four, your $100 bill would be reduced to just $50,” Charlebois said. “I know that might not necessarily be feasible here in Canada, but I urge our government to look at things like that if they’re truly committed to save the hospitality sector.”
“No business can continue to run at a loss indefinitely. And it’d be a shame if we had to let go of our local restaurants that form so much of our cities’ identities.” – Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce
Given the current crisis, Manitobans can’t simply wait for governments to ride to the rescue. If restaurants are going to survive in a socially distanced world, they’re going to need local patrons to step up, dine in, take out, and purchase gift cards.
Despite the relaxing of pandemic restrictions as the province’s economy reopens, we’re a long way from business as usual in the food-service sector. Local restaurants are in trouble, and as Manitoba Chambers of Commerce president and CEO Chuck Davidson points out, people and food are a big part of what makes our city special.
His point is well taken. Restaurants are more than just places to eat; they are cultural touchstones, places where we mark the milestones of our lives — first dates, sports victories, graduations and birthdays, to name just a few.
Restaurants have been there to serve Manitobans in the good times — and now they need us to return the favour.
