Restaurant Industry Still Needs Government Support To Reopen
HALIFAX – Restaurants may be gradually reopening in Nova Scotia and across the Maritimes, but government support will be needed for the foreseeable future to keep the eateries open.
Luc Erjavec, Restaurants Canada Atlantic VP says restaurant owners are facing accumulated debts, new expenses, uncertain staffing, and capacity problems as they start to reopen their dining areas.
“There’s a little bit of excitement, a lot of trepidation,” he said.
One of the biggest hurdles facing the restaurant industry is the continued need for social distancing during Covid-19. The dining rooms will be operating at 50 percent capacity, in an industry where profit margins are small at the best of times. That is why, claims Erjavec, the federal government’s 75 percent wage subsidy program needs to continue.
“There is concern. Will it be viable when you’re required to operate at reduced capacity?” Wonders Erjavec.
“I don’t think there is a magic bullet out there. I think the wage subsidy has been a really good program. It has helped businesses that are operating at a loss.”
According to surveys done by Restaurants Canada, approximately two-thirds of restaurants that have remained open are operating at a loss.
On top of that, Restaurants in Nova Scotia that began reopening this week are facing start-up costs, much like a brand-new business. There need to be protective plexiglass barriers, sanitization equipment, and the purchasing of new produce.
“It’s like you’re starting all over again. You have to bring back your staff, retrain them, you have to buy produce… and the cupboard is bare,” said Erjavec.
Like other businesses across Canada, restaurants may also face problems when trying to bring back staff. With the CERB program offering out-of-work Canadians $2,000 a month, many employees would rather wait out the pandemic at home.
“We want to bring people back to work as many hours as they can. I guess that’s part of the uncertainty; we don’t know how business volume there is, we don’t know how many hours we can offer an employee,” said Erjavec.
“There’s trepidation on the part of employees and trepidation on the part of employers.”
Erjavec also says Nova Scotian restaurant owners are lucky the province has banned landlords from evicting commercial tenants during the pandemic. The federal rent subsidy program, he says, has been a flop for the restaurant industry with landlords not wanting to participate in the program.
“The pickup has been really small. We’re really pleased that Nova Scotia has protection from eviction because that’s one way to force landlords to play ball.”