Restaurant owner Shelley Orr does not think getting into the restaurant business is a good idea at the moment.
The sector took a hit because of lockdowns and restrictions caused by COVID-19, and now it’s inflation that is cutting into the industry.
Canada’s Food Price Report 2023 indicates the price of food will increase by another five to seven per cent on average this year. Vegetables, dairy, and meat will surge the most.
“Times like this, I don’t recommend anybody buying a restaurant,” said Orr, owner of Bugsy’s, a restaurant in St. Catharines.
Orr has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 18 and has owned Bugsy’s for the last 20 years. She has been struggling to keep up with inflation while keeping her customers and staff happy.
“You know, I used to spend like $20,000 a year in oil. Now, I’m spending $55,000 a year in oil,” Orr said. “I’m spending $900 a week on lettuce and tomatoes just to get going.”
She said she had to put up her prices to cover some of the rising costs, but is still not making any money.
“Everything went up,” Orr said, listing bacon as a product that has gone up exponentially in price.
However, she said people have continued to dine at her restaurant and have told her the prices remain reasonable.
Orr said other restaurants have increased their prices much more, but she tries to keep her prices as competitive as possible.
“I don’t want to make too many changes, because you make too many changes, it stops people,” she said. “People get freaky. You just can’t do too much to them, you know?”
Orr’s experience as a restaurant owner is no different from that of new restaurant owner, Stephanie Su.
Su is the owner of Ryu Izakaya, a newly opened sushi restaurant in Richmond Hill.
Before the pandemic, Su owned a small takeout restaurant. She said all of the ingredients and supplies have either doubled or tripled.
Now, at her new restaurant, which she has owned for just four months, Su has already had to make changes.
“When we first opened, all the portions were a lot larger than how it is now,” she said. “We have set back on what we buy and also increased our prices.”
Su said she has increased her prices by one dollar, and portion sizes only decreased by very little, but it still needed to be done.
“We haven’t gotten way too many complaints and right now, with everything going up, some people are very understanding,” she said.
The anticipated food price forecast for restaurants will be a four to six per cent increase this year compared to 2022, the report found.
“It was bad enough during the pandemic,” Orr said. “But it’s still pretty tough to make money with the way prices are right now.”