Canadians are eagerly returning to their favourite spots, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted to some extent everywhere across Canada and restaurants open again across the country. However, OpenTable data suggests that reservation no-shows are persisting as a problem for the industry. The provider of online restaurant reservations found that over 75 per cent of its restaurant […]
Canadians are looking forward to returning to restaurants as long as safety measures are in place finds the 2021 Discerning Diner Report from Angus Reid and Restaurants Canada. In particular, 89 per cent of Canadians are looking forward to eating out with friends and family, with 64 per cent going so far as to say […]
It’s not just foodservice that has been suffering a labour shortage. Across numerous industries in Canada, employment levels remain down when compared to before the pandemic. Restaurants could be the key to restoring the balance. “Restaurants are key to bringing Canadians back to work, but precarious conditions over the past 18+ months have created unprecedented […]
Menu prices at restaurants in Canada were 3.1 per cent higher in July 2021 than they were a year ago, reports Restaurants Canada. This represents the largest increase since January 2019, and is over three times the magnitude of the rise in food prices at grocery stores, which climbed by 1.0 per cent. Since January […]
New Black Box Intelligence data shows that full-service restaurant (FSR) tickets in the U.S. grew by nearly 20 per cent on a two-year basis as of Q2 2021. The restaurant backdrop improved last quarter as the economy reopened and vaccines increased consumer confidence, helping FSR transactions grow compared to Q1. This has contributed to the latest figures, which were also spurred by higher menu pricing brought in by many restaurants to offset […]
The latest survey from Restaurants Canada has found that eight out of 10 surviving Canadian restaurants are still barely scraping by, nearly 18 months into the pandemic. According to the latest data drawn from the study conducted in July: Over half (55 per cent) of restaurant operators said they are still operating at a loss […]
The long road out of COVID-19 is strewn with potholes and other hazards, not least the Delta variant. The highly contagious variant was first discovered in India in late 2020 and now accounts for the majority of cases in Canada and various other countries. For example, 95 per cent of all positive tests in British Columbia […]
Canadians largely recognize that tipping is becoming increasingly important for the foodservice and hospitality industry amid the devastating impacts of COVID-19. However, there are some signs that attitudes may be changing. Foodservice and hospitality has always relied on tipping to a significant extent. The pandemic, though, is causing something of a reevaluation of how the […]
Amid the uncertainty and change of the past year, organic food is prospering. U.S. organic sales jumped by a record 12.4 per cent to US$61.9 billion in 2020, according to the 2021 Organic Industry Survey released by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). That marks the first time that total sales of organic food and non-food products […]
It will come as little surprise to most that the number of digital takeout orders has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. But new research from the NDP Group has lifted the lid on just how big the spike has been. Digital ordering was a life-saving avenue for many restaurants and foodservice operators across North America […]
