Halifax restaurant closes doors as industry faces ongoing challenges

The owner of Fawn says high costs and tariffs are to blame for the closure of her Halifax restaurant.

Fawn, a Halifax restaurant known for its modern take on American cuisine, opened its doors in 2022, but Katie Tower, one of the owners, said costs became too much and they shut down on April 29.

“Any decision like this to close something you love with people inside of it, the employees, the guests who you really care about and enjoy being around, is not a nice feeling,” says Tower. “We had like a pretty difficult situation happen with a submetering company that handles our utilities here and that was actually the thing that tipped us. Aside from that it was a difficult project for us.”

Tower is also one of the owners of Field Guide, a more pub-style restaurant on Gottingen Street. It has operated for around a decade.

“It’s extremely sad, obviously you don’t get into something to get out of it. You get in it to live the life that you want to live and to see your dreams kind of come true, through dedication and hard work,” says Tower. “We face the same struggles that lots of restaurants face. The up and down and general flow of business volume was a big one, especially in this town and the market was flooded right around the same time as we opened.”

Janick Cormier with Restaurants Canada says many eateries are struggling at the moment.

“Bankruptcy in the industry went up 23 per cent in 2024 and that’s huge. The economic reality is that people are facing an affordability crisis, and they are tightening their wallets,” says Cormier. “At the same time minimum wage went up, operating costs, rent, utilities, insurance have all gone up and restaurant owners are simply not able to pay all their bills.

“We are facing a world where expenses are going up, but people are eating out less often and when they do they spend less money than they used to. It is creating a situation where restaurants aren’t profitable. About 53 per cent of restaurants today in Canada are either losing money or barely breaking even and that’s just not sustainable.”

Downtown Halifax has seen several businesses recently close but there has also been some growth in the restaurant industry.

“People just have this passion to open restaurants. Even during the worst economic times there are always new restaurants coming and going. This has actually been a great year for downtown,” says Paul Mackinnon, Downtown Halifax Business Commission CEO.

He notes that Barrington Street was once known for shopping and it is now taking on more restaurants than retail spots. But the waterfront is one area that Mackinnon is impressed with.

“All the new restaurants and all the new high-end restaurants that have opened along the waterfront have been really great to see and even on Barrington Street and Argyle Street we are seeing a broader mix of restaurants, some that are more affordable and some that are more, quicker service options,” says Mackinnon.

Tariffs are already impacting restaurants when it comes to food prices and kitchen appliances.

“In the current climate when somebody is thinking about opening a restaurant and you hear that 53 per cent of restaurants aren’t profitable, you might think twice,” says Cormier. “In a world where we are facing a tariff war with the United States and we are starting to feel those effects in Canada at a greater rate than we were six weeks ago, people are worried about investing.

“They are worried about simply dining out so it’s impacting thinking about opening a new business right now in this climate, it’s not very appetizing.”

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