Restaurants prep for slowest season after tumultuous year

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This article was published 30/12/2020 (1838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ray Louie has heard mutterings from some restaurateurs that they might quit operations for the first three months of 2021, should the code red restrictions continue.

For The Gates on Roblin, which Louie is general manager and vice-president of, that won’t be the case — at least, not for January.

Restaurants are readying themselves for what is typically the slowest months in the industry: the post-holiday crash. This comes on top of nine months of opening and closing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had devastating effects on some local eateries.

There has been some relief. On Dec. 22, the province announced it would put $5 million towards a program delivering financial aid to dine-in restaurants that have shifted to delivery services. There’s also the Manitoba Bridge Grant, a $5,000 payment for qualifying businesses.

However, the money doesn’t make things normal.

The Gates on Roblin had a relatively good December, Louie said. Businesses ordered meals for employees to eat together over video call, in a replacement holiday party fashion. The largest one The Gates served had 145 people; the smallest had eight. The company catered to about 25 parties before Christmas.

“It was definitely a new way of looking at business,” Louie said.

Normally, The Gates on Roblin hosts Christmas parties and weddings, serving hundreds in a night. Employees would go to other locations and cater parties, too.

This year, The Gates made 10 per cent of the revenue it usually makes during the holiday season. 

“We were happy to get a party of 20 the other day,” Louie said. “The difference in perspective in scale has been stunning.”

The Christmas gigs won’t end in December — or so Louie hopes. He scheduled The Gates on Roblin to provide food for two virtual holiday parties in January, and the company is open to booking more. All school catering events they’d usually attend are off.

If business is slow, and The Gates on Roblin is losing money by staying open, it might temporarily stop offering its services. 

“At the end of the day, we would just close the doors, wait until the whole thing is over, open the doors again,” Louie said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

It’s not as big a deal for The Gates because the land is paid for, Louie said, adding that restaurateurs who rent their property can’t just stop running for a couple months.

Louie said it’s unfair to promise his employees jobs and then lay them off days later due to new government regulations. So, in a situation where the company isn’t that busy but has brief stretches of activity, it might not be worth it to remain open.

“You can’t play with people’s lives that way,” Louie said. “It’s not an easy situation, and our government’s not been helpful because they don’t give us notice.”

He said he’d like the province to publish thresholds showing how many COVID-19 case numbers it’d take to classify as a code red or orange zone. That way, businesses could see if their area is close to entering a restrictive period.

“If they gave us the numbers, we could do the math ourselves,” he said.

Jennifer Last, owner of Roxy’s Diner & Lounge, said she expects in-person dining to be closed January and February. So, she’s trying to think of new ways to attract customers.

The Oak Bluff-based restaurant saw more catering calls than normal in December, Last said. Companies bought their employees lunch as a holiday present. However, it’s not enough to feel secure while entering the slowest months of the year, Last said. 

“They’re brutally slow,” she said. “That’s why I want to really jump on something that makes people excited.”

She’s planning to have daily themes that continue week to week. There will be Mexican Mondays, Two for Tuesdays, Wing Wednesdays, Throwback Thursdays and Feel Good Fridays. Last wants to cook pub-style appetizers on Saturdays and “soul food” on Sundays. 

“The bottom line is, we need a lot of takeout orders,” Last said. “You need to encourage (people) to want to come try something different.”

She said she’s seen many new faces this year — people who started supporting local due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s appreciated, but there’s still a need to be flexible to draw in more business, Last said.

She said she wants to keep her workers employed, so she needs to think outside the box.