For over eighteen months, restaurateurs have been scrambling to adjust, when they are not forced to close at the drop of a hat: reorganizing dining rooms, installing registers and plexiglass, creating takeout menus, boxes and other ready-to-assemble items, delivering baskets and contactless services. In addition to reduced reception capacities and a lack of staff, there is now the supervision of vaccine passports. The discomfort is palpable, even if many prefer this solution. Opinions vary between grumbling and relief.

The solution of the lesser evil

“We could have done without it, of course, but between closing and being able to open dining rooms, we prefer to make the necessary adjustments,” says François Meunier of the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ), which represents 20,000 restaurateurs. “The industry has been very affected by the measures that had to be put in place, even more so in the context of a labour shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to estimate the decline at 40% for those who offer table service: that’s $5 billion less in the coffers in one year. So even if there is a lot of organizational complexity and an additional responsibility on the shoulders of restaurateurs, the passport allows dining rooms to open.”

Éric Champoux, the young founding owner of the four La Chambre sports bistros, shares his relief: “We were just starting to get established and get staff back, so I took the option of opening because I have too much to lose by closing again. I tried delivery for eight months, but it’s not my market; 75% of my square footage is in the dining room.”

A significant drop in traffic

For the past year, La Chambre's banner has been bought by the franchisor Foodtastic. "The majority of the 425 partners are seeing the same trend as mine: a 30 to 40% drop in traffic," laments Mr. Champoux. "It's not easy to understand when we're talking about 85% of people vaccinated. We're going to be patient and hope that the clientele comes back."

For Mr. Meunier, the decline is variable and can also be explained by the start of the school year, the fact that the recovery of international tourism is in its infancy, that office towers are still empty, and that events have limited capacities – an observation that applies mainly in large urban centres. “Weddings and conventions are being postponed again. Gastronomic Montreal can no longer dream of welcoming the mass of 300,000 people in one evening as before for the Montreal International Jazz Festival.”

A solution that is not always one

While curfews, closures and constant adjustments have shaken up the mechanics of bars and restaurants, managing the vaccine passport is one more instruction that affects the workforce in a context of scarcity. "It's certainly not easy," says Mr. Champoux. "You have to have the means to have a hostess permanently at the reception and if it overflows, the server has to make sure to ask for it again at the tables."

For some, the passport requirement is a definitive death knell. It is simply no longer possible to stay open, especially for small restaurants with table service. “Since February 2020, there have been 2,500 closures, including 900 in Montreal and 175 in Quebec City,” confides Mr. Meunier. “That’s between 10 and 15% depending on the region. However, bankruptcies are fewer and fewer each year, thanks to government support measures. That said, it is too early to draw up a real assessment, because we are living on borrowed time, and debt rates are high.”

Closure or free zone

The vaccine passport is having a hard time getting through. Among those who can live with takeout, some are showing off by closing their dining rooms and verbalizing their discontent. This is notably the case of Ristorante Via, Jerk Sport and Caffè Roma in Montreal or Snack Branché in Quebec City. "Here, we wear a smile", "Here, we respect your choice": merchants want to respect the choices of their customers. On the front of Gaia, there is a green sticker on which we can read: "All are welcome, with or without a health pass." This is the sticker of the French collective Zone libre.

Carole Laplante, the owner, complies with the instructions while pointing out their inconsistency: “Customers can take their meals away and eat them on the picnic tables that line the restaurant because this area is not part of our land register,” she explains. “The terrace must be closed.”

While some compete in ingenuity and find loopholes, others are ready to defy the measure: "I want to welcome my seated customers without discrimination, it's a question of values." The fines are nevertheless heavy: between $1,000 and $6,000 per infraction, plus costs. The amount increases in the event of a repeat offense and the formal notice hangs over the offenders' noses.

Elsewhere in the world, restaurateurs are also refusing to close their dining rooms and play the police.

"It is often when the straw that breaks the camel's back is the last straw that the most positive changes begin," they say.