The National Day weekend was less lucrative than expected for many restaurateurs. In the dock: rainy weather and smog.
The number of people in the dining rooms and on the terraces during the long holiday celebrations around June 24 varies from year to year, according to the establishment owners interviewed. But the poor air quality at the end of the week caused by the forest fires scared away many customers, particularly those who like terraces.
In the heart of Vieux-Longueuil, restaurateur Marion Fournier did not experience the traffic she had hoped for. “It was really quieter than the other Sundays, confirms the owner of 267, a snack bar specializing in Korean hot dogs. It should have been busier. The street is closed. Our terrace is open. »
While walking around, Mr.me Fournier was able to see that the other restaurants were also short of customers… and that there were few passers-by in the street.
“It’s obvious that weather conditions can have an impact on traffic, whether it’s rain or smog,” says Martin Vézina, vice-president of public and governmental affairs at the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ). ” In [le cas du smog]it must also be said that the recommendations not to go out as well as the articles [faisant état] of one of the worst air quality in Montreal did not help. »
Same observation in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where lunches were less popular than usual at the Restaurant Matinée. The owner, François Roy, noted a drop of about 15% in his turnover compared to a normal weekend. “A light rain or gray weather [contribuent généralement à augmenter] the sales. But not the smog. We had never seen this here before. The smell of fire was intense in the morning. We hope that the situation will return to normal shortly. »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
Victor Afonso, co-owner of the Tapeo restaurant
Like other restaurateurs, Victor Afonso, co-owner of the Tapeo restaurant, in the Villeray district, decided to close his terrace on Sunday evening, so as not to put the health of his customers and employees “at risk”. Result: he found himself with fewer places available.
Nathalie Côté, co-owner of Stella Pizzeria, which has a branch in the Plateau-Mont-Royal and another in Rosemont, has also closed its terraces… and its windows. With the rain and smog, people were less inclined to go out, she admits. It therefore served far fewer pizzas last weekend than on the same date last year. “But I’m not going to complain,” she says. Nature needs water, it’s sad, everything that happens. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Nathalie Côté, co-owner of Stella Pizzeria
For Jean-François Girard, who runs the Beaufort Bistro on Plaza St-Hubert, the month of June was difficult. When the smog started to be felt in the city a few weeks ago, the restaurateur was already noting that “people were going out less”.
“The beginning of June was not terrible,” he says. According to him, COVID-19, inflation and now smog are all incentives for people to stay home instead of going out to eat. He is now banking on the Plaza festivities planned for this summer to have a better month of July.