‘It’s easier to not open at all’: A wave of restaurants and bars are closing for the holidays as new restrictions take hold

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2021 (1059 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A spate of temporary closures is weaving through Toronto’s food industry as restaurants and bars navigate the rapid spread of Omicron cases and new limits on customer capacity.

Since the Ontario government announced the new restrictions for small businesses Friday, a multitude of bars and restaurants across the province have opted to temporarily shut their doors for the coming weeks rather than operate at half capacity and with early curfews.

The wave of closures include Aloette, Alobar Yorkville, Donna’s, DaiLo, Honest Weight, Le Swan, Rhum Corner, Bar Vendetta, Greta Solomon’s, Fat Pasha, Fet Zun, Big Crow BBQ, the Grand Elvis, Crews and Tangos, The Local, Three Speed, Civil Liberties, Greater Good Bar, Snackbar, Swan Dive, the Old Sod, Mahjong, Drom Taberna and more.

Even before the restrictions came into effect on Sunday, some businesses reported a decline in customer demand due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Now, out of an abundance of caution, and to keep costs low — as the province has not announced any plans for renewed subsidies — some have shifted to takeout-only while others have closed until those restrictions are lifted.

Donna’s, a homestyle eatery in Bloordale, will shut its doors for two weeks after Christmas. The restaurant recently closed indoor dining and notified its 15-person staff that this week will be their last, until it’s safe to open again.

A combination of public health concerns, financial stability and “sheer exhaustion” went into the difficult but not surprising decision, said restaurant co-owner Ann Kim.

“We just needed a couple weeks’ break,” Kim said.

On Saturday, Toronto restaurateur Jen Agg announced she will close Bar Vendetta, Le Swan and Rhum Corner until Dec. 27, citing rising COVID-19 case counts and overwhelmed staff.

“We want our staff to have one less thing (work obligations) weighing on their decisions to be with family,” Agg wrote on Twitter.

Agg said the restaurants would continue to pay their workers despite the closure, “but without government support we clearly can’t continue to run payroll beyond this, so VERY hopeful it is a short closure.”

Other businesses outside the food industry have also announced temporary closures. The Revue Cinema will close until Jan. 3 “at the least,” the theatre said on Instagram. So will the Comedy Bar, the Horseshoe Tavern and Lee’s Palace.

The latest restrictions require bars, restaurants and entertainment spaces to reduce indoor capacity by 50 per cent and close services by 11 p.m. Seating is limited to 10 people per table while alcohol sales will be restricted after 10 p.m. The province also noted that dancing and singing will be prohibited, except for “workers or performers.”

The new restrictions, intended to limit the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases — which hit 3,783 new cases Monday— throws a wrench into business plans for bars and restaurants expecting a revenue boost on New Year’s Eve.

Zac Schwartz, co-owner of Leslieville restaurant Lake Inez, booked 120 reservations for New Year’s Eve. In the coming days, however, the Pan-Asian gastropub will have to reschedule dozens of reservations to earlier seating to accommodate the new regulations, he says.

“Instead of dining reservations at 10 p.m., we’re asking people if they want a spot at 4 p.m.,” Schwartz said. “It sucks. I’m sure we’ll lose a bunch of people in the process.”

The vast majority of restaurants have operated at a loss or have barely broken even since the pandemic began, according to Restaurants Canada. Nearly 80 per cent of small food services have consistently lost money since the first wave of lockdowns ended in 2020 or have scraped together a profit margin of roughly two per cent or less.

The cycle of lockdowns and mass layoffs have contributed, in part, to a substantial shortage of workers in the food industry. Recent data from Statistics Canada shows that food services and accommodations jobs are short roughly 178,800 workers since the pandemic began, while sectoral wages have increased at a glacial pace.

For some food places, it makes more sense to shutter temporarily than to operate under the province’s new restrictions, said James Rilett, vice-president of Restaurants Canada.

“Just because you’re functioning at half capacity doesn’t mean you can necessarily halve your costs,” said Rilett. “It’s tough bringing together staff when you’re not sure if you’ll be open or closed next week, so sometimes it’s easier to not open at all.”

Since Friday’s announcement, neither the province nor the federal government has announced new financing for businesses impacted by the restrictions. Provincially, targeted support for small businesses ended months ago while loans from Ottawa have been greatly reduced.

Lobby groups, including Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, have called on the province and the feds to reintroduce subsidies and expand loan-forgiveness programs.

Jacob Lorinc is a Toronto-based reporter covering business for the Star. Reach him via email: jlorinc@thestar.ca