Most Quebec restaurant owners want to reopen, even at half-capacity: poll
Most Quebec restaurant operators are keen to reopen even with fewer tables, though many fear that the COVID-19 crisis could make it increasingly difficult to find staff.
Seventy-two per cent of restaurant managers say they want to resume operations, even if they have to cut dining-room capacity by half, according to a poll published Thursday by Association Restauration Québec. If they can’t reopen soon, more than 60 per cent of those polled say their establishment won’t be able to survive beyond six months.
ARQ, which represents about 5,700 Quebec restaurants, polled 1,217 restaurant managers from May 6 to 11.
Restaurants and bars across Quebec have been closed since mid-march after Premier François Legault declared a public-health emergency. Quebec remains the hardest-hit province, with more than half of all cases recorded across the country.
Forty-eight per cent of restaurant managers polled have put in place a pickup and delivery service during the lockdown, though a majority say prepared meals only generate 30 per cent of their usual revenue, at best. Most respondents say they plan to offer a wider range of pickup and delivery meals.
When restaurants do reopen, finding enough staff may become a problem. Sixty-three per cent of poll respondents said they’re worried about employees refusing to return to work. Fifty-four per cent cite the $2,000-a-month Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, which often exceeds the part-time income that many restaurant workers earn.
How viable will restaurants be if tables are removed? Twenty-two per cent say they would need at least 60-per-cent capacity to break even, while another 39 per cent say they would need to operate at 75-per-cent capacity.
In the meantime, two-thirds of restaurant managers polled say they are very or extremely worried about their ability to pay rent, suppliers and employees. A similar proportion say they suffered revenue shortfalls exceeding 81 per cent in April compared with the same month a year ago.
If dining rooms do not open quickly, 30 per cent of respondents in the ARQ poll believe that they will only be able to remain in business for one to three months.