Restaurants concerned about being able to reopen, says industry group

There still isn’t a timeline for when restaurants will be able to resume dining room service in Saskatchewan, but a spokesperson for Restaurants Canada says many establishments are worried about reopening, period.

According to Mark Von Schellwitz, vice-president for Western Canada, 70 per cent of members are concerned about debt and being able to pay their vendors.

“In our business, it’s not like reopening a retail store. You’ve got perishable inventory that needs to be replaced. You have to now train your staff (for) physical distancing, cleaning and sanitation, help in personal hygiene protocols,” he said on the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

Von Schellwitz said restaurants are worried about making rent, working capital and the federal wage subsidy.

On the latter item, the 12-week period to qualify extends from March to June while employees haven’t been working, Von Schellwitz said.

Members are hoping that could be changed.

“They’re now just gearing up to reopen so they think it would be much more effective to have that 12-week period go from June to September. As a result of that, then they can actually probably survive,” he said.

The dining room experience could be different. Von Schellwitz said restaurants are being forced to adapt to public health guidelines.

It’s possible that guests could see plastic shields between tables and different floor plans to prevent clusters of people. Staff will need to be trained.

All of this comes at a cost to the operator, said Von Schellwitz.

“It’s just the startup costs that a lot of our members are concerned about to do this properly is going to take capital. And in many cases, they’ve depleted all of their capital resources … with no income or very little income coming in,” he said.