London Drugs throws lifeline to local restaurants hit by COVID-19
It’s been a tough year for restaurants. They were open, then closed, then opened again for limited seating, then closed again with patio seating only, and now they are open again. It's enough to make your head spin and enough to give restaurant owners a migraine.
“We dropped about 65 per cent in sales,” said Ron Macgillivray, owner of Fable Diner in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
There are many similar stories. Paul Moran launched Wild Origins from Tofino in December 2020 just before COVID-19 shut everything down. His company forages for wild foods from the forests and sea, like seaweed and mushrooms, and it had been offering foraging tours with dining experiences featuring the gathered food.
“It has been challenging times for sure for us,” said Moran.
Now both Wild Origins and Fable Diner have been thrown a lifeline by London Drugs through the company’s Local Central program. It offers up shelf space to local businesses and in May began to include local restaurants too.
“We thought what another great way for us to be able to help support restaurants and offer up some shelf space,” said Edwin Chang, manger of Vancouver’s London Drugs at Broadway and Cambie streets.
Wild Origins' six packaged foods and Fable Diner’s hot sauces are now available on store shelves at several London Drugs locations.
So far, 17 local restaurants that have joined the program and the businesses get to keep all the profits.
“We do feel quite fortunate with the help that we’ve received from London Drugs being able to get our products into 14 stores,” said Moran.
“In times of the pandemic it’s a positive light for us,” added Macgillivray.
It is hoped they are not forced to close again but if they are, they are better prepared to handle the storm.
“We’re all in this together and I think it’s one of the best ways we’re going to get through this for sure,” said Chang.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.