Lockdowns may be over as pandemic measures relax, but Canada’s restaurants face an uphill battle to recovery. Two years of restrictions, a labour shortage, and a looming recession have put enormous strain on the restaurant industry, with an estimated 13,000 foodservice businesses closing their doors since March 2020.
Job vacancies in Canada’s restaurant industry have tripled since the pandemic, stalling recovery in the beleaguered sector as it grapples with rising food costs, mounting debt, and high inflation.
Restaurants can’t afford to lose talent, even in the best of times. With job-hopping becoming the norm, employers must go the extra mile to offer skilled staff more than just a pay cheque.
It’s been a tough year for the restaurant industry and with diners expected to stay away into 2023, there’s little respite in sight. Given the bleak outlook, now’s the time to switch up your marketing to find new ways of attracting and keeping consumers.
Incentivising diners to become repeat customers can significantly grow your customer base. According to a recent survey, more than 50% of Canadians would be more likely to dine out if offered loyalty programs.
Your waiter, your chef, your line manager, your supervisor - everyone working in your restaurant is an individual. So why train them the same?
When it comes to employee development, restaurants and other foodservice businesses often fall into the trap of buying a one-size-fits-all training solution. These out-of-the-box programs aren’t doing you or your staff any favours, forcing trainees to plough through monotonous modules that don’t cater to their specific abilities, career goals, or level of experience.
For some restaurant workers, serving is a summer job. But what if your new hires show promise and you want to keep them year-round?
Enticing staff to stay isn’t just about offering them a good wage or creating a fun workplace environment. Those things do matter, of course, but equally-important is continual training and development.
As restaurants across the country grapple with a lingering labour shortage, savvy employers are looking to the next generation to staff their eateries. Luring Gen Z through the doors could be the answer to your staffing shortfall…but only if you know how to train them effectively.
These are uncertain times for the Canadian restaurant industry and, without a crystal ball, it’s hard to know what’s on the horizon. In the short-term, the outlook is mixed. While restrictions are easing across the country and staff are returning, rising costs and wary customers mean it won’t be business as usual.
Are you looking for restaurant relief programs available in 2022? Click here for updated provincial and federal relief programs currently available.
COVID-19 has had a crippling effect on the foodservice industry, forcing many businesses to close permanently or shift to models that focus heavily on delivery and outdoor dining. Prior to the pandemic, the foodservice industry directly employed over 1.2 million Canadians who served nearly 22 million people each and every day.
The “new normal” is something you’ve probably heard bandied about more than you can count. From our work lives to our social lives, every aspect of what we once thought of as day-to-day life has changed since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’s no end in sight. While this same thing can be said for every industry, it’s especially true for the restaurant industry. The idea of upholding social distancing protocols has changed everything for restaurants, who for the time being have been forced to serve customers outside of their usual facilities, offer their services via delivery, or drastically reduce the number of customers allowed inside.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left a permanent mark on the food service industry, affecting every facet of the way we once conducted business and forcing establishments to rapidly innovate. One of the most notable victims of COVID-19’s effect on food service is the self-serve buffet restaurant. The future of the buffet has been speculated on by industry experts everywhere - the COVID-19 virus is extremely contagious, making the future of these once favourite restaurants extremely uncertain. Have we seen the end of the buffet restaurant, or will these businesses be able to survive thanks to innovation and the implementation of COVID protocols?