Statistics Canada says sales in the food services and drinking places subsector fell in 2020 in the wake of lockdowns, limited dine-in options during the pandemic, and fewer customers. Businesses stemmed part of their losses by laying off employees, expanding take out service, and applying for government assistance programs.
Nationally, about 43 per cent of restaurants and bars saw their revenue decline by 40% or more. Just over 1 in 10 said that their revenue stayed about the same or increased compared to 2019.
In terms of the next three months, over half surveyed expected profitability to fall compared to about 42 per cent of all businesses. Nearly one-third of restaurants and bars expected profitability to remain the same, while 8.5% expected profits to rise.
At their current level of revenue and expenditures, about 51 per cent of food services and drinking places do not know how long they can continue to operate before considering closure or bankruptcy. About 26 per cent reported that they can continue to operate for less than 12 months before considering closure or bankruptcy.