Canada’s restaurant sector has patiently had to wait to bounce back since the COVID-19 pandemic, with establishments across the country looking for ways to manage rising costs.
That’s the case at The Saint Restaurant on Portage Avenue, which now opens at 3:00 p.m., as there wasn’t enough traffic to make lunch financially feasible.
“A lot of our smaller peers and neighbours on Portage Avenue no longer serve lunch anymore,” explains owner Ravi Rambaran.
“It’s just the traffic isn’t coming out. I don’t know if it’s an affordability issue, I think that plays a big part of it. Just the general let’s go out for a drink, let’s go out to eat, that commentary has really died out.”
At The Saint, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see only a few tables seated when lunch service was still happening. For restaurant owners like Rambaran, it doesn’t take an extravagant night out for customers to support the business.
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The Saint Owner Ravi Rambaran at his Portage Avenue Restaurant.
Josh Arason / Global News
“You don’t have to spend $100 or $200 to go out, you can go out and spend 20 bucks or 30 bucks. Even that 20 or 30 bucks is very, very much appreciated. During the week come on out, have a drink after work.”
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While it’s been a struggle countrywide to recover from the pandemic, many in the sector say cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal have bounced back much quicker than Winnipeg has. Manitoba is currently seeing the largest decline in Canada for restaurant revenues and is one of only three provinces in Canada seeing a decline year over year.
Over the last couple years there has been an uptick in lunch business in Winnipeg, but not enough to compensate for the recent detrimental years restaurants have experienced.
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“It requires a major course correction to be able to have our businesses operated at a meaningful, beneficial, and profitable timeframe during the day,” says Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association executive director Shaun Jeffery.
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The struggles of getting people through the doors has meant many restaurants have put more of a focus on take out, delivery, and catering options for customers.
Jeffrey says the sector is working to change the trajectory of the province’s food scene.
“Investments by the governments, being able to find additional investments outside that business which is just a little bit harder to find here. We’re working with our government and our business community to try and change that trajectory and get more businesses in Manitoba, but before that happens it’s certainly a tough push right now.”
Last year 7,000 Canadian restaurants shut their doors, with another 4,000 expected to do so in 2026.
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