Montreal restaurants brace for uncertainty as U.S. tariffs take effect

Just a day after the imposition of tariffs, anxiety is already rising in the food sector. For restaurant owners like Emmanuel Michakis, uncertainty is the biggest concern.

“We’re all a little nervous,” said Michakis, co-owner of Restaurant Lafayette. “The tariffs might be for a bit, they might be for a while, or they might be long-term—we just don’t know.”

He hopes only a few of his products will be affected by the tariffs imposed on Tuesday. But even then, he said it’s yet another challenge for business owners like himself.

“Since COVID, we still haven’t caught our breath,” Michakis said. “We’re always on the go, always facing inflation on this and that.”

The effects of the tariffs extend beyond small businesses. Larger restaurant chains are also bracing for financial strain, said Peter Mammas, president of Foodtastic, a company that owns multiple restaurant brands.

“It’s a disaster for the whole restaurant industry,” Mammas said. “We’re scared to lose customers for sure.”

The winter months could make things even more difficult. Mammas said many of the fresh ingredients his restaurants rely on come from the United States, where warm-weather crops are grown year-round.

“Florida and California are big suppliers to us,” Mammas explained. “That’s going to have an immediate impact on our food costs.”

Food supply expert Sylvain Charlebois noted that while the first wave of tariffs may not be devastating for this industry, the long-term impact remains uncertain.

“It’s probably very hard for restaurant operators to figure out what to do,” said Charlebois, a food distribution professor at Dalhousie University. “Should they base their decisions on a second wave that’s coming up in 21 days?”

His biggest concern is the potential weakening of the Canadian dollar.

“If our dollar actually gets weaker, that’s going to be a problem for restaurant operators,” he said. “It’s going to be a problem for grocers as well.”

Amid the uncertainty, Restaurants Canada issued a statement urging the federal government to take action. The industry group called on Ottawa to exempt all food products from sales tax to help mitigate the financial strain on businesses and consumers alike.

Back at Restaurant Lafayette, Michakis argued it’s time for Canadians to stick together. “We’ve got to work as one,” he said. “It’s the only way to go forward.”