Consumers are back in the dining rooms of fine dining restaurants. During the summer of 2022, the big restaurants in Quebec recorded a 22% increase in their clientele, compared to 2019. The big losers, establishments in downtown Montreal, however, saw an 18% drop in attendance. .
Posted at 4:45 p.m.
These data revealed following a consultation carried out by the collective La Table ronde show that gastronomy experienced a “marked rebound” during the summer season. “But the sector is facing daunting challenges that are hampering its development, in particular the shortage of labor combined with the general increase in costs”, can we read in The state of the gastronomy sector in Quebec, the document published Monday by the group which has 68 independent restaurateurs spread across Quebec. Colombe St-Pierre (Chez Saint-Pierre), Perle Morency (Côté Est), Normand Laprise (Toqué!) and Véronique Rivest (Soif) are among them.
“Already thin profit margins have […] been eroded by the general increase in the cost of food and the wage bill”, we also write. The restaurateurs surveyed saw their payroll increased by 26% and the cost of food jumped by 22%.
Félix-Antoine Joli-Coeur, Secretary General of La Table Ronde, also wishes to point out that the reduced opening hours have had an effect on traffic, which could have been greater.