‘Uphill the whole time’: Fionn MacCool’s on Regent Avenue West to shutter

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This article was published 12/09/2024 (408 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not even Irish luck could ward off closure. Fionn MacCool’s on Regent Avenue West is the latest in a number of Winnipeg restaurants to shutter, citing economic factors.

“I think, had the (COVID-19) pandemic never happened, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” manager Jay Kilgour told a reporter Thursday.

He launched the Irish-style eatery in November 2019; its last day will be Sept. 21.

The Fionn MacCool’s location near Grant Park Shopping Centre, which Kilgour also heads, will continue operations.

“I love this industry, but it hasn’t been … the same over the last couple years,” said Kilgour.

December 2019 was great for the Regent neighbourhood restaurant, he recalled. January 2020 was decent, February was a bit slower. By the time Fionn MacCool’s 25,000 mail advertisements hit homes, COVID-19-induced lockdowns had begun.

Kilgour believes the site never recovered. “We’ve been fighting a battle that … was uphill the whole time.”

His comments echo that of the former owner of Preservation Hall — the Empress Street eatery opened during the pandemic and shuttered last month — and others in the industry.

Kilgour offered his insurance bill as an example: it’s nearly doubled in price over seven years, he said. Meanwhile, food, labour, rent and “every single cost” associated with running a restaurant has jumped.

“Our business decisions affect people and that sucks, but it is what it is — we can’t stay in business and lose money.”

A Restaurants Canada report this year found nearly two-thirds of eateries operated at a loss or barely broke even in 2023. Pre-pandemic, a reported 10 per cent of the industry was losing money.

Fionn MacCool’s Grant Park location has a “far more favourable” lease and sees “significantly more” business, Kilgour said.

He declined to comment on the sale of the Crossroads shopping centre area restaurant. A since-modified post on Fionn’s Winnipeg’s social media account said the business was sold back to Foodtastic, the brand’s franchisor.

Foodtastic didn’t respond to questions by print deadline.

Kilgour said he’s been scouting jobs for upwards of 30 staff employed at the soon-to-close site.

“There has to be some give,” he said. “Costs can’t keep rising the way they are … There’s going to be some empty buildings and leases are going to have to come down if people want to stay in business.”

Kilgour is an executive board member and government relations representative with the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association.

MRFA executive director Shaun Jeffrey called Kilgour “integral” to the organization.

“It’s definitely disheartening,” Jeffrey said of the news. “Every time a restaurant closes in the city, I know it’s not our fault, but we feel like we’re failing.”

He considers the Fionn’s closure “sobering” — it’s a popular concept (Irish pub) and high-traffic location. “If they’re not able to make a go of it, then that’s a real indicator of the challenges we have in our industry.”

The MRFA has repeatedly called for provincial government support to assist restaurants as they continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com