Two K-W businesses announce closures, blame pandemic

Businesses still closing due to the pandemic Two restaurants in the region are closing, citing the pandemic as one of the main reasons. Stephanie Villella reports.

It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 restrictions were fully lifted in Ontario, but many businesses are still struggling to recover from the losses they endured during lockdowns when capacity limits were in place.

Taco Farm in Waterloo and Descendants Beer in Kitchener are among the latest to announce closures. Both posted on social media recently saying the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions have left them no choice but to shut down.

“It is with heavy hearts and exhausted spirits we announce that Taco Farm will close permanently,” the restaurant posted to Facebook on Dec. 23. “After years of success and support in our home of Uptown Waterloo, the time has come to tell an unavoidable truth. The compacted impacts of the pandemic, rising costs and ever-changing landscape have created a hole too deep, and we find ourselves forced to close the doors."

Its last day in operation was New Years Eve.

Descendants Beer and Beverage announced its closure on Dec. 30.

“Overnight Descendants went from being a viable craft brewery and event venue to a hospitality business struggling to stay alive during the various lockdowns and restrictions,” it posted on Facebook.

“We are forced to close down - not because we didn’t work hard, smart of efficient enough and not because we ‘took our eye off the ball’ but because of COVID.”

Jason Murdock and his rock cover band, Fire in The Valley, played a show at Descendants on Dec. 23.

He said there was no inkling that the brewery was going out of business.

“Nobody there would’ve known. There was nothing that indicated it could have been going out of business. It was so well run. It was clean – the way it always has been,” he said.

He said because of the closure, he and his band haven’t gotten their share of the bar sales they were promised.

Murdoch said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with the owners.

“There’s a lot that goes into ... a three hour show. It's usually a couple weeks of production behind the scenes. We’ve come to terms with the fact that we probably never will,” he said. “It’s disappointing, but the biggest loss is the loss of a live music venue in Waterloo region.”

Restaurants Canada said the road to recovery following nearly two years of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns has been bumpy for many establishments.

“It’s a challenging time with inflation. We’ve seen all the pressures with utility, food costs and labour shortages. So they’ve had all of these things that have been coming at them the last year, but there’s also nothing in their reserve,” said Kelly Higgison, Chief Operating Officer with the organization.

Higgison said it could take another year for businesses to recover.