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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.