Edmonton-area restaurant closes for Oilers games despite losing revenue

The Edmonton Oilers are hoping to tie the series with the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa reports.

Profits be damned!

That’s the unofficial motto for an Edmonton-area buffet restaurant when it comes to choosing between cooking up Ukrainian food for customers or watching their favourite team in the National Hockey League playoffs.

Saskitoba has been putting a pause on frying up pierogies, cabbage rolls, sausages and onions at suppertime when the Edmonton Oilers take the ice in the post-season for two years now.

And as the team keeps winning playoff rounds and playing earlier and earlier in the evening, it forces the owners of the restaurant in Nisku, Alta., to choose between staying open or closing early to watch games.

Candy Galay has been choosing the latter.

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“Closing early is completely worth it for us because then we get to watch them win in real time and not hear about it later,” Galaxy, a co-owner of Saskitoba, told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers, her favourite team, and the Florida Panthers.

Regular customers have had to get used to this game-day tradition, but at least one of them supports their decision to forego profits for puck-watching.

“I’m in support of closing early for the games, so then everyone gets to watch and enjoy it,” Brenda Wangert said at the restaurant on Thursday.

“More places should do that for their staff and people.”

Galaxy, who moved to the Edmonton area from Winnipeg almost 20 years ago and converted from Jets to Oilers fandom, has been proactive in helping customers get their dinner fix.

“We’re offering them a take-home meal consisting of everything that would be on the buffet, but they can just come, pick, pre order, pick it up, take it home and eat it in front of their TV while they’re enjoying the game as well,” she said.

And even though burglars broke into the restaurant earlier this month and staying open could help them recoup the costs of the break-in, Galaxy chooses to close Saskitoba for games.

“We are a small business. We struggle, like all of the other ones,” she said. “It’s a tough go out there in today’s economy, but you’ve just got to roll with it.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa