Many restaurateurs who are dreading January 18 for the repayment of part of the subsidy lent by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic have sounded the alarm during the year 2023. Now that the fateful date is fast approaching not, their concerns are beginning to be confirmed.
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“I haven’t paid my rent for December,” confides Martin Guimond, owner of the craft brewery, Saint-Bock, in the Latin Quarter.
“This is the first time in 18 years of operation that I have not been able to pay my rent,” he adds.
In an interview on LCN, the entrepreneur maintains that the problems that are forcing Montreal restaurateurs to tighten their belts are multiple.
“The price of food has exploded, the price of labor has exploded, which leads to very high operating costs, but rents are not going to decrease for that,” he explains. .
Pointing out that many believe that restaurants buy their food at reduced prices, the entrepreneur specifies that “this is not the case. We often buy our food at Costco, the same place as everyone else, so we pay the same price as everyone else.”
“Less 75% of income”
The owner says the current conditions in which he is trying to operate his business are “catastrophic.”
“Before the 2019 pandemic, versus now, we are at less than 75% of income,” he informs. It is enormous!”
Mr. Guimond understands that people in general have less money in the inflationary context and he recognizes that the prices of dishes and drinks in restaurants are expensive.
“I find it expensive myself,” he admits.
The City of Montreal is exacerbating the problem
The businessman does not believe that restaurateurs are the only ones responsible and thinks that certain measures by the City of Montreal exacerbate the problem.
He criticizes two initiatives imposed by the Plante administration: the new regulations on parking meters which now end at 11 p.m. in Ville-Marie and the cycle paths which complicate transport by car.
He compares this new pricing on parking meters to “a tax on culture, restaurants and bars that motorists must pay after 9 p.m.”.
On the other hand, regarding the cycle paths which should bring more customers, the owner of the brasserie on rue Saint-Denis nevertheless affirms that “this is not the case”.
According to Mr. Guimond, the year 2024 will be very difficult for restaurateurs and he adds that unfortunately “we are going to lose a lot of players”.
***Watch Martin Guimond’s interview on Mario Dumont’s show in the video above***