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Restaurant Comings & Goings

All of my family has made a commitment to get take out / delivery at least once a week to do our bit to support local establishments. Last night, a restaurant owner pointed out the high percentage that delivery services take, so even if they are saying delivery is free, they're still taking a cut from the restaurant. We're going to only do direct delivery from the establishment or do curbside pick-up and skip Skip the Dishes
 
All of my family has made a commitment to get take out / delivery at least once a week to do our bit to support local establishments. Last night, a restaurant owner pointed out the high percentage that delivery services take, so even if they are saying delivery is free, they're still taking a cut from the restaurant. We're going to only do direct delivery from the establishment or do curbside pick-up and skip Skip the Dishes
I find when you do pickup/takeout from places. They give you more food than delivery.
 
A number of restaurants that I pass by on my mental health walks have signs saying "10% discount on take-out orders" or something like that. The delivery apps (Uber, Skip the Dishes, Foodora, DoorDash) exploit both the couriers and the restaurants.

Starbucks and McDonald's can afford to go to an almost complete drive-thru or delivery (app-based) model. Most others just can't.
 
A friend did take-out the other day; the restaurant thanked them and said that the delivery app folks take a big cut so they appreciate people who can pick up take-out.
 
A number of restaurants that I pass by on my mental health walks have signs saying "10% discount on take-out orders" or something like that. The delivery apps (Uber, Skip the Dishes, Foodora, DoorDash) exploit both the couriers and the restaurants.

Starbucks and McDonald's can afford to go to an almost complete drive-thru or delivery (app-based) model. Most others just can't.

I received an e-mail from McDonald's Canada and its president/CEO John E. Betts said that McDonald's no longer has takeout. It only has delivery and drive-thru. Only McDonald's locations near and within hospitals and health care facilities still have take-out.

John E. Betts said:
Hello everyone,

It was just a week ago that I sent my last message, and since then it certainly feels like the world has changed once again. These are uncertain times, but I’m encouraged to see everyone coming together to follow the measures put in place by our respective governments and public health authorities. Truly, the only way through this situation is to work together as one.

At McDonald’s Canada, protecting the health and well-being of our people and our guests has been our number one priority throughout this crisis. It has guided every decision we’ve made as the situation evolved. It is with this in mind that I want to let all our valued guests know of an important announcement.

Closure of Take-Out Service

As of March 22nd, we will no longer be offering take-out service in our restaurants. This means our dining rooms will now be completely closed. In addition, we will also stop offering curbside pickup. However, Drive-thru and McDelivery service will still be available for those seeking convenient and affordable food options while they practice social distancing.

Select restaurants may continue to offer take-out service in communities where there are specific needs, including locations near hospitals and healthcare facilities. We are working closely with our franchisees to identify these locations.

This was by no means an easy decision. As we assessed guidance from governments and health authorities and listened to the concerns of our franchisees and restaurant crew, we felt it was important to take action.

We know there are people in our communities without a car to access Drive-thru, and not everyone can access McDelivery, which is why we provided take-out service for as long as we could. Please understand that this change was made for the continued safety of our employees and guests across the country.

Ongoing efforts for our Crew and our communities

You should also know that we have additional measures in place to protect our employees working to fulfil Drive-thru and McDelivery orders. McDonald’s has always maintained the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness in our restaurants. In the past two weeks we have introduced enhanced procedures that take those standards even further. In addition, we have also introduced social distancing guidelines for our employees to put in place while they work.

We have worked closely with our delivery partners, UberEats and Skip The Dishes, to take precautionary measures for the safe delivery of your food. McDelivery bags are securely sealed and drivers are trained on best practices to get your food to you quickly and safely.

As we reduce service in our restaurants, we also want to make sure that no food goes to waste. With this in mind, we are working with our Distribution Centres and suppliers to make food donations to local organizations, ensuring we continue to support communities across Canada.

We are in this together

In closing, let me say again: we are in this together. I know that you will all understand and appreciate the measures we are taking to protect our employees, and all of you, as we navigate this situation.

Please keep yourselves and your families safe. Thank you for making us part of your every day, and we look forward to serving you soon.

John E. Betts
President and CEO of McDonald's Canada
 
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All full-time employees working under one of Canada's largest Japanese restaurant brand, Kinka Family, are getting a massive cut to their monthly paycheque.

Employees working at all Canadian locations of Kinka Izakaya, Kintori Yakitori, Kinton Ramen, JaBistro and Neo Coffee Bar will see 25 per cent docked off their salaries for the next three months, according to an e-mail sent to staff last week.

"We will review this within the 3 months to gauge whether this will go on for longer," wrote Daiki Takane, Kinka's Vice President of Operations, in the e-mail.

"There will be no exceptions; this cut will affect all salaried employees."

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Kinka Izakaya has already temporarily closed its locations on Harbourfront, in the Annex and its Kinton Ramen at Harbourfront. They've also begun offering 30 per cent of all their food orders at remaining Kinka Izakayas, and discounts off ramen until April 19.

 
It is very sad, but even now that they can deliver wine, many restaurants won't survive - too many people are being financially affected by this, and cannot justify spending three figures on a meal at the moment.
 
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Some restaurateurs get rent relief, while others stress over April bills

The Canadian Press March 28, 2020

 
Restaurant will eventually open in the Britt.
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A ton of places will close and some will return in one form or another. It sucks, but this is a once-in-a-century event impacting every town and city across the globe in the same way. There's nothing really anyone can do about it unless the government majorly steps up to assist, but even that has its limits.
 
Toronto is going to be scarred for a long time after this. Our huge selection of restaurants in every neighbourhood make up the soul and character of this city. There’s no way most of them can survive. They cling on to life even in good times, one or two week closure away from financial ruin. 3-5 months shut down and even then, I can’t imagine people will be flocking to sit down restaurants after spending months being told to stay away from other people.

I know of at least a handful of my clients (former clients I guess) that they simply can’t afford to pay the bills. These aren’t small mom and pop restaurants, they’re quite established in their communities. They’re going to leave a hole where they once were. What a tragedy.
 
Some permanent structural changes have been accelerated significantly here that were already underway slowly and it will be interesting to see the fallout.

My assumptions are:
  • There will be a permanent shift to more online meal ordering with delivery from a much wider variety and style of restaurants because of large numbers of people signing up for this service now and becoming accustomed to it. Fewer restaurants in general will exist post-crisis because of this.
  • The temporary allowance for wine and beer delivery for restaurants will become permanent, albeit with a full permit regimen in place.
  • More "ghost restaurants" will pop up, possibly allowing for a quick and inexpensive way for some people to re-enter the industry; in the UK they have converted shipping containers into industrial kitchens that do nothing but fulfill online orders. These can be packed up and moved anywhere as needed, alternatively they can be easily repurposed for a completely different restaurant with ease.
  • Conversely, the food truck fad is permanently dead.
  • There was a push back against the percentage cut or fees billed by third-party delivery services, but that will go away because the delivery industry now has the upper hand, unless a new entrant comes and starts a "fee war" when the crisis is over. Delivery meal prices will rise slightly to accommodate this.
  • Contracts will be signed for "exclusive delivery rights" and this will be heavily advertised; "only available from Uber Eats," etc. There will be scandals about "unauthorised deliveries."
  • More 24-hour delivery options because of more dispersed working hours; people working in the office "as needed" instead of "during office hours;" and many more people regularly working from home. Why not start work at 8:00 p.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. if there's no time sensitive jobs to be done? So there will be much more demand for meals at 1:00 a.m. than today.
 
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