The devastating effect on COVID-19 on the restaurant industry, starting in March now has some numbers behind it. Statistics Canada says sales in food services and drinking places fell 36.6 per cent to $4 billion that month. This is the largest decline since the beginning of the series in 1998. It was March that governments began closing non-essential businesses, imposed travel restrictions, and limited public interactions. Prior to the pandemic, Quebec was the only province that allowed restaurants to sell alcohol with take-out meals. But, to ease pressure on the industry, most provinces allowed it by the end of March. Here in Saskatchewan, total food services sales fell 32 per cent from to the month before. Compared to March the previous year, sales were off here by 32.4 per cent. Nationally, sales were down 35.3 per cent.