August 26, 2022 A new study conducted by Food and Beverage Ontario has found that while Ontario’s food and beverage processing industry is seeking to ease its skilled trade shortage by increasing education, employment opportunities, and access to qualified foreign workers, manufacturers are faced with numerous barriers. The report, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, found ...Read more about this post
August 22, 2022 The pandemic brought new, unimagined challenges to the restaurant industry, from closures and loss of business to supply chain delays. In the post-pandemic climate, while some of those obstacles still continue to plague the industry, a newly intensified challenge has dominated: labour shortages. During more than two years of unreliable work, many people quit the industry, ...Read more about this post
August 9, 2022 Diversity and inclusion can be a tough topic in the restaurant industry and there have been suggestions that operators and employees do not necessarily see eye-to-eye on the important issue. Addressing the historical imbalance is increasingly integral for the industry’s future. While all restaurants and restaurateurs must do their part, the franchising side of the industry ...Read more about this post
August 8, 2022 New statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that amid the ongoing economic turmoil, the landscape is changing. Restaurants are finding room to hire more workers while wages are levelling out. The new data showed that restaurants and bars increased their pace of hiring in July, adding more staff than they did in any ...Read more about this post
August 5, 2022 A new survey released on August 3 by the U.S. National Restaurant Association found that the restaurant industry has a far greater percentage of female entry-level workers than female executives — but restaurants don’t necessarily report that accurately. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), and the Cornell University ...Read more about this post
August 4, 2022 As the labour crisis continues to plague restaurants, we are reminded yet again that there is no simple solution. Many restaurants are still struggling desperately to maintain a viable level of staffing, and there is no easy answer. The labour pool has shrunk dramatically with many former gig workers leaving the industry, leaving operators to scramble ...Read more about this post
July 25, 2022 By Tom Nightingale COVID-19 has brought lasting change to the foodservice and hospitality industry, from the way restaurateurs and chefs manage and lead their business to the way they communicate and support their colleagues and staff. That evolution has been a necessary one, fueled in no small part by the ongoing labour crisis – “The Great ...Read more about this post
July 11, 2022 By Tom Nightingale Foodservice has been going through something of a technological revolution in recent years, an apparent long-term shift that took another leap forward during the pandemic. Increased digitization and automation bring benefits, such as increased convenience and accessibility, but what it cannot and should not attempt to replace is human connection. Perhaps now, more than ...Read more about this post
June 29, 2022 Sustained supply shortages are just one of the challenges that still continue to plague restaurants in North America, and the effects of that crunch are felt in everything from menu prices and options to staffing. Anissa Mandell Chance, SVP of Supply Chain at Focus Brands, the parent company of brands including Schlotzsky’s, Cinnabon, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and ...Read more about this post
June 17, 2022 New data from Yelp has shown that diners are returning to restaurants in droves, flocking to dining rooms in 2022 as the memory of heightened pandemic fears and restrictions fades. That has brought its own problems, though, as complaints about short-staffed restaurants have soared. The new state of the industry report found that customers have been ...Read more about this post
June 10, 2022 The pandemic and the fallout felt by the restaurant industry has prompted a conversation around tipping, and something of a reassessment of the culture. Now, some Ontario restaurants are beginning to adopt a tip-free model. As noted by CTV News, the crux of restaurants’ argument for going tip-free is that by eliminating tips and increasing menu ...Read more about this post
May 28, 2022 Foodservice operators have been doing all they can to attract more restaurant workers but, amid soaring inflation and food costs, measures like hiking wages, introducing benefits, increasing flexibility, and trimming menus just aren’t getting the job done. Canada’s restaurant industry was devastated by two years of shutdowns, repeated layoffs, and strict capacity limits, and about 13,000 ...Read more about this post
May 27, 2022 By Mo Chaar If COVID-19 has shown restaurants anything, it’s that we live in an unpredictable world. In large part, the industry was unprepared for the pandemic, which had ramifications for every aspect of running a restaurant, from the health and safety of guests to staffing challenges. After two years that saw the industry grappling with lockdowns, ...Read more about this post
May 18, 2022 By Katerina Jones There are countless articles published talking about the importance and value of mentorship, and we recently saw many of these voices during Women’s History Month in March. Many of these articles strike home at the essence and reasons why mentorship is especially critical for professional women in the workforce. However, for professional women in ...Read more about this post
May 12, 2022 Quebec’s restaurant and hospitality industry is asking the federal government for help in easing its labour shortage, calling for the loosening of foreign worker rules in time for the summer season. This summer, with open restaurants and COVID-19-related restrictions at their lightest since the pandemic began, is expected to be the busiest season for foodservice and ...Read more about this post
