It’s not a great time to own and operate a restaurant in Metro Vancouver.
The industry is struggling with a rise in recent bankruptcies happening across the region, according to the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
“We’re in a particularly low point right now,” Ian Tostenson, BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s CEO and president, said.
“This is the highest level of bankruptcies (we’ve) ever seen in the history of the restaurant industry.”
Tostenson said it has been something in the forecast for the industry and is not surprising as many establishments are in debt from CEBA loans that were already struggling from a sudden drop in business during the pandemic.
“(Restaurants, especially smaller ones) are just closing at a rate that’s quite alarming,” Tostenson said.
“In Vancouver, there were 17 closures at well-known restaurants, (recently).”
Along with consumers being “smarter with their spending” and looking for deals such as happy hours or sharing meals — government red tape also has to shoulder some blame, Tostenson said.
“We have a whole bunch of hidden costs in government, which is the sort of red tape and regulation which is really crushing businesses,” he said.
“But the good news is, we have made some major gains with the province. There is hope coming and interest rates will decrease — but right now, that is little comfort for those restaurants who put their heart and soul into it and are closing.”
The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s CEO and president said he has had positive discussions with Premier David Eby about centralizing government oversight and streamlining government support.
“For us to have to deal with all these different ministries … it is like there is no conductor for the orchestra,” Tostenson said.
“You need a single point in government and (Eby) thinks that is a great idea.”
One of those shocking closures is award-winning vegan and vegetarian restaurant The Acorn, which has been open for seven-and-a-half years.
“(The pandemic) really took the wind out of our sails,” Shira Blustein, The Acorns’ owner, said.
“(It was) devastating we lost all of our staff, we had to lay them off. We went to a full restaurant to a take-out sandwich shop.
“Costs have increased, fewer people are going out and those two just don’t match anymore.”
Blustein said her restaurant was “like a baby” and that trying to keep prices down at the restaurant while trying to keep afloat became too much for her.
Back to Tostenson and The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, he said it is a shame so many places are closing as they are the “heart and souls of communities.”
He hopes a possible “B.C. Ministry of Restaurants” could be created to help solve these issues.
