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Up to a third of BC’s restaurants could close due to COVID-19: BC restaurants association

Ovaltine Café - Vancouver
The Ovaltine Cafe, a diner in the Downtown Eastside established in 1942 - Photo courtesy of Yutaka Seki
Laurence Gatinel - CFRO - Vancouver • BC | 18-12-2020
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By Tan Mei Xi
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COVID-19 continues to take a large toll on restaurants, especially independent restaurants with fewer resources, says a restaurant association.

Ian Tostensen, CEO of the BC Restaurants and Food Services Association, told The PULSE on CFRO that BC could lose up to one third of its 15,000 restaurants.

"Not a lot of restaurants [at the start of the pandemic] were prepared to do takeout and delivery," said Tostensen. "We lost a lot of small restaurants. They did not have the staying power and or resources to make that transition."

However, Tostensen is cautiously optimistic about the future of the industry.

"By the time we get to the summer, for the [restaurants] that can make it that far, I'm predicting we're going to see somewhat a resumption to normal... but it's going to always be a controlled circumstance."

"You'll see industry resume to probably two-thirds of its size... but it will probably be stronger, and it will be a lot more equipped to handle the next crisis that's around the corner, whenever that is."

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