Cold reality sets in for bars, restaurants,
New rules, high costs making it tougher for bars, restaurants to winterize patios
Toronto’s restaurants and bars are scrambling to extend patio season for as long as possible following the 28-day ban imposed October 10 on indoor dining — but many are finding that winterizing is more difficult than they thought, and some are closing down altogether for the time being.
“There’s no confidence, really, that people will flock to outdoor patios in the winter,” said James Rilett, Restaurants Canada’s vice-president for central Canada. This uncertainty has left restaurant owners wondering if they’ll be worth the investment, he said.
And while some restaurants are charging ahead with winterizing their patios for the long haul, it’s a select few — and it’s a challenge, given the current shortage of space heaters caused by increased demand, said Ryan Mallough, director of provincial affairs for Ontario for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
There are also lots of rules to follow, Mallough said. For example, business owners looking to put up tents around their patios need to make sure they’re
following city directives.
According to Toronto’s guidelines for restaurants and bars, if a business is covering its patio, at least two walls of the structure must be open to the outdoors. If the roof of the patio is open, at least one wall must be open to the outdoors.
On Monday, Toronto Mayor John Tory said he’s hoping to have more advice for businesses in the next couple of days on how to create safe outdoor patios.
“The challenge is you can’t just create another indoor space out of canvas,” he said.
Most businesses would prefer to just go back to indoor dining, Mallough said, but if the ban on that continues, the ones who stay open will likely revert to takeout only, as they did in the pandemic’s early days.
“That’s really the only option,” he said.
Some may shut down temporarily, Mallough added — a reality some are already facing.
Devon Salomone, co-owner of East Thirty-Six, said in an email that construction on Wellington St. prevented the restaurant from extending its patio season, making it impossible to stay open.
“We are 100 per cent concerned about being able to survive a continued ban on indoor dining,” Salomone said.
Salomone and other Toronto restaurateurs said the short notice of indoor closures — just 24 hours — made things even harder, from trying to sell off inventory to having to lay off staff.
The new rent relief program may help temporarily closed businesses like East Thirty-Six, as it theoretically gives extra aid to businesses that have been forced to close. But Mallough wants to know whether that will include restaurants that are only offering takeout.
“It’s hard to put any type of investment (into a winter patio) when you don’t know if the business is even there,” Salomone said. “Do people even want to eat outside when it will be cold and damp?”
Rilett expects many restaurants will shut down permanently, especially if the indoor dining ban is extended. Others will pivot to takeout or meal kits, he said.
But pivoting to takeout isn’t a fix-all. Many restaurants, like The Pint Public House on Front St., just aren’t the kinds of restaurants people got to for takeout, explained owner Cesar Mesen. So while offering takeout has helped, if the indoor dining ban continues into the winter, it won’t be enough to sustain the business, he said.
Mesen said the business has had “no choice” but to extend its patio season for as long as possible — but not forever.
“It comes at a great expense,” he said, explaining that between propane, the rental of an awning and other expenses, he’s looking at $1,000 a week.
“Are we afraid? Absolutely,” he said, stressing how difficult it is to plan for the unknown.
Sean Bayley, president and owner of FAB Restaurant Concepts Inc., said some of the nine restaurants the company owns already had heaters or fire pits, which have helped extend patio season. One location, Against the Grain, recently debuted several transparent outdoor domes that can fit up to six people.
But Bayley isn’t planning on fully winterizing those patios: it costs a lot of money, he said.
“It’s hard to make a decision” with the mixed messaging coming from officials at different levels, he added, referring to the back and forth that preceded the ban on indoor dining.
Mesen and Bayley are both concerned the indoor dining ban will be extended, or that the winter will see restaurants repeatedly forced to close, reopen, and close again. “That would be very bad,” Bayley said.
Both are also waiting for details about the government’s new rent relief program.
“We still don’t have an answer, and rent is due in two weeks,” Bayley said.