Quebec’s restaurant owners are furious over the mandated closure of their dining rooms, especially the late-night announcement impacting one of their busiest nights.
Restaurant proprietors express outrage at the eleventh-hour notice, impacting a peak revenue day. Measures effective at 5 p.m.
The timing of the announcement is criticized. Measures should have been implemented sooner, according to Dr. Bolduc.
The province’s heavy-handed approach to controlling the pandemic is highlighted. Curfews, restaurant closures and gathering bans instituted.
Peter Sergakis, a multi-restaurant owner, describes the situation as a ““`html
[[1]]. The news, delivered just hours before its implementation, caused outrage among restaurant owners who saw their busiest night of the year – likely New Year’s Eve – decimated. The eleventh-hour announcement is particularly damning, highlighting a complete lack of foresight and consideration for the businesses directly impacted. This wasn’t just an inconvenience; it was a financial catastrophe for many struggling establishments.
The anger expressed by restaurant owners is entirely understandable. The sudden closure, particularly the timing just hours before it came into effect, meant immediate losses of revenue, wasted product and a complete disruption of already fragile operations. This underscores not only the negative impact of the policy but also the government’s failure of communication and support for the industry.
The consequences extended far beyond a single night. While the article doesn’t detail the long-term effects, we know from subsequent reporting that the pandemic’s impact on Quebec’s restaurants was devastating. Nearly 20 percent of restaurants in the province have closed permanently since the start of the pandemic [[3]]. This significant loss represents countless jobs, devastated livelihoods, and an irreversible alteration to the gastronomic landscape of Quebec. Even pre-pandemic, the pressures on the restaurant industry were high but the pandemic undoubtedly accelerated closures, with the 2021 New Year’s Eve shutdown likely contributing to the high number of permanent closures detailed in articles such as the one detailing Montreal closures alone [[2]].
While the immediate outrage at the 2021 closure is easily understood, the lasting impact highlights a larger issue: the vulnerability of the restaurant sector to government policy decisions, particularly those made without sufficient consultation or consideration for their consequences. The story serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the need for better communication, support, and consideration of the economic realities facing business owners when implementing drastic public health measures.
