No happy hour, cheaper cuts of meat: How B.C. restaurants are handling sky-high inflation
After two years of weathering COVID-19 restrictions, pre-pandemic crowds have returned to the Glowbal group of restaurants in Metro Vancouver.
"We finished with the masks and the mandates and we got to the other side of it," said owner Emad Yacoub.
But now B.C’.s restaurant industry is being hammered by year-over-year inflation at rates not seen in Canada for decades. And that’s driving up costs for food and supplies.
"With the inflation that’s happening right now, it’s just out of hand. I don’t know what to do anymore," said Yacoub during an interview at his eatery Italian Kitchen in downtown Vancouver.
He explained restaurants are struggling with a dilemma: How much of their extra costs can they pass along before customers decide it’s too expensive to dine out? For example, he says a steak that cost him $18 wholesale last year is now $28.
"So when a steak is $28, how much are we going to sell it for? And how much is the consumer willing to pay? We are taking this increase straight from our bottom line, because we can’t keep increasing our prices or the consumer will stop coming," said Yacoub.
To keep costs down, he expects some restaurants will stop offering happy hour prices and make cost-cutting changes to their menus.
“You don’t put a striploin, maybe you use a hangar steak. Some chicken instead of high-end fish. That’s what people will have to start doing to their menus,” said Yacoub.
With inflation expected to continue to rise through the summer, locals eager to get back to dining out likely won’t be enough to get B.C. restaurants through the crisis.
"If the tourists come in and fill up the extra seats that we have empty, I think the budget will balance and we will be okay," said Yacoub. "So that’s what we’re hoping for."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.