Post-Fiona, Small Businesses Need Our Help
The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter based in Halifax.
Restaurants and small businesses can’t seem to get a break.
It can be infuriating to look back at everything that has happened to these entrepreneurs since March of 2020 and how they still struggle. We often have to remind ourselves that Covid-19 is still here. Sure, the restrictions have vanished, but the impact on our health and the economy is still very real. And now we have a hurricane to throw on top of that.
Fiona passed without incident for me and many people I know. My neighbourhood, in Dartmouth, only lost power for a few hours. I wouldn’t even call the hurricane an inconvenience for me, since the outage forced me to pick up a book (I keep telling myself I need to read more) and play a board game with friends.
The same cannot be said for the businesses I have spoken with during Atlantic Canada’s Fiona-recovery phase.
Even if a business didn’t lose power, or suffer property damage, it still lost money. The fact that the hurricane came on a Friday is significant when you think about the economic damage it wrought.
For many small retail shops, and especially dine-in restaurants, weekends are key for their coffers. As Brain Doherty of The Old Triangle told me, a busy Friday night can carry a pub through its week.
This week, I also spoke with Bill Pratt, who operates 15 restaurants and eateries throughout Halifax. He estimates that he lost a combined $100,000 in revenue just from being closed or from people stying staying home thanks to the storm.
Just minutes before I started writing this column, the provincial government finally came out with some Fiona-related supports for businesses.
There will be a one-time, $2,500 grant to offset the unexpected business closures. There is also a Disaster Assistance fund available to small businesses that need to repair or replace uninsured property.
But that fund also comes with this disclaimer:
“Repair and replacement costs for insured and insurable items (even if insurance wasn’t purchased) are not eligible for assistance. Food lost due to Hurricane Fiona also isn’t eligible for assistance.”
Right now, every nickel counts for restaurants. A recent report shows how far in debt the industry went just to survive the pandemic. Restaurants Canada says 85 percent of independent owners took on new debt. Nearly 80 percent took on at least $50,000 in debt, with many going over $100,000.
On top of that, restaurants are now closing earlier due to staff shortages. And, of course, food inflation has left operators in a tough situation. Grocery stores can pass on inflation to customers (and then some) without blinking an eye. After all, everyone’s got to eat. And if you point out that food prices are becoming unaffordable, a grocery store CEO will likely scold you at an AGM.
Restaurants don’t have that luxury. If they raise prices too high, people will simply decide to cook more at home. So, instead, restaurants are finding ways to lower costs and have only raised prices by an average of 6.5 percent (lower than the rate of inflation).
Now, in a sense, Fiona did create business for some. In the days before the storm hit, smart people stocked up on supplies. But I’m willing to venture the majority of that business, once again, went to larger chain stores and grocery outlets.
At least one independent retailer in Halifax put out an impassioned plea on Facebook just before Fiona landed, reminding people to think local when spending their storm budget.
“Don’t forget to shop local while you’re out storm prepping! Small businesses will have to close if we lose power, which means a loss in revenue,” wrote The Tare Shop. “Shop at your favourite small businesses (like The Tare Shop) to grab what you can before hitting up the big stores.
Local businesses have still been struggling, and aren’t done dealing with the effects of Covid and need your support now more than ever!”
I hope some people heeded that call.
But even if you didn’t spend money on a small retail shop or restaurant before the storm, it is not too late. The colder months are around the corner. Outside of the holiday shopping season, these are the weaker financial months for many entrepreneurs.
Given all that these business owners (and their employees) have been through, there has never been a better time to spend a little extra, if you can afford it.
And I am not being a hypocritical preacher here; I have also fallen into bad spending habits since the pandemic. I hate cooking so I love ordering from restaurants. Sadly, since the pandemic, I have fallen into the routine of ordering from third-party carriers, which do little to help these joints.
This weekend, I plan to make a better effort. I have a friend visiting Halifax on her birthday. I plan to take her to one of the many great dessert cafes in the city. Every weekend this fall and winter I will try dining out at a new, independently owned restaurant. It’ll also do me good, as I’ve ordered enough pizza delivery to last a lifetime since 2020.
I’m also guilty of bad holiday shopping (which is right around the corner again, somehow). I procrastinate and rely too heavily on Amazon to get everything at once. This year, I will buy at least three gifts from local retailers and craftspeople. Imagine the millions of dollars that would go into our local economy if we all made that small effort to shop at places like The Tare Shop this winter.
Even if you scratched just one gift idea off your Amazon list and bought it it locally instead, it could make a huge difference.
Throughout the pandemic, I wrote so many stories about government support for small businesses. But that wasn’t going to last forever. Now, those CEBA loans are on the verge of needing repayment and businesses still need help.
Those of us with disposable income need to step up to the plate.