Restaurant closures in Quebec far outpacing openings: report

Quebec restaurants are closing Quebec restaurants closures are outpacing openings more than anywhere else in Canada.

Quebec restaurants are closing faster than they're opening at the same time as diners are spending more money than they were pre-pandemic.

A Restaurants Canada (RC) report shows restaurants across the country closing at a much faster rate than they are opening, and Quebec's eateries are at the top of the list.

Restaurant closures in the country outpaced openings by 43 per cent.

In the province, 817 restaurants have temporarily closed between April 2021 and July 2022, and 760 restaurants have permanently closed their doors, according to the report. During the same period, 279 were newly opened and 306 re-opened.

The province's -992 net openings are second only to Ontario, which is at -1,720.

The RC report shows projected Quebec 2022 commercial foodservice sales to surpass $15 million, which is 2.8 per cent higher than pre-pandemic sales in 2019 ($14,896,700). When adjusted for inflation, however, that number is far below pre-pandemic levels.

Unified data vice-president Kyle Brown said restaurants are trimming menus to include fewer options to speed up prep times, contend with rising food costs and reduce food waste and labour cost.

"Many customers prefer these condensed - and hence, focused - menus that tend to be more visually appealing and easier to read," said Brown.

Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab suggests, however, that the inflation-adjusted foodservice sales will be around 11 per cent below 2019 numbers by the end of the year across Canada.

"Traffic in full-service outlets is down 9 per cent, and for quick service, it's down 5 per cent," said senior director Sylvain Charlebois.

The RC report says that high inflation and rising interest rates may hit restaurant sales in 2022 and 2023.

The Dalhousie lab estimates that 27 per cent of Canadians' food budget is spent on food outside of the home, whereas, before the pandemic, the number was over 35 per cent.

"The annual report is, of course, imbued with the optimism and resilience characteristic of the sector," said Charlebois. "But with both a possible recession and higher interest rates on the horizon, consumers will have to make choices and change habits. With a tighter budget, many consumers will eat in restaurants less often."