Pizza sales in takeout restaurants throughout Atlantic Canada skyrocketed on New Year’s Eve after a brutal year for the hospitality industry due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“We were crazy busy,” said Amy Halman, manager of Charlottetown’s Famous Peppers pizzeria.
She brought in a full complement of staff for the rush. So, too, did the Pizza Shack in the Bathurst, N.B. Owner Sherry Pitre said the last day of the year is always a busy time for her restaurant but this one was especially busy with sales up as much as 20 per cent compared to other New Year’s Eves.
Newfoundland and Labrador pizzerias also saw a bump in business.
Adrian Whiffen, owner of Lefty’s Pizzeria & Lounge in Grand Falls, said his restaurant saw that surge start Dec. 30.
“With COVID-19, people didn’t want to cook. They just wanted to get their shopping done,” he said.
Nada Khoury, owner of Truro’s Pizza House, saw the same two-day boom.
“People are trapped at home and have nowhere to go. So, they order food,” she said.
“It was very good. I had two extra staffers on board and it was busy. . . . It was the best average hour for the business of the whole year.”
During the first wave of the pandemic, restaurants were forced to shut down, in some cases for months. When they reopened, social distancing requirements severely slashed the seating capacity of dining rooms, cutting it by as much as 50 per cent.
Luc Erjavec, vice-president for Atlantic Canada at the Restaurants Canada industry association, estimates sales for full-service restaurants in Canada dropped by about 35 per cent in 2020.
“It was as bad a year as you and I are going to see in our lifetimes. It was a miserable year,” said Erjavec.
“We did a survey in early December and about half of restaurants, or 48 per cent, are at risk of closing in the next six months if things don’t improve.”
He said 65 per cent of restaurants across the country are operating at a loss and another 19 per cent are only breaking even. That means 16 per cent are in the black.
Full-service restaurants do roughly 80 per cent of sales by serving patrons in dining rooms. They are expected to still have a tough time this year. Restaurants Canada is forecasting revenues for full-service restaurants nationally to be down about 24 per cent, compared to 2019.
Takeouts often have delivery service and fared better. Sales at these quick-service restaurants dropped by 12 per cent in 2020 and are expected to be off by only 3.5 per cent this year, compared to 2019.
Government-imposed social distancing restrictions and Ottawa’s financial help to Canadians seem to be helping some eateries.
Bathurst Pizza Shack defied the national trend last year and saw revenue grow. Pitre said the Canada Emergency Response Benefit has helped people buy things they might not otherwise be able to afford.
“There are people that have money that never had it before,” she says.
“I don’t know how long that’s going to last.”
Like many restaurants, Pizza Shack now offers no-contact delivery.
“Customers don’t even have to look at us,” said Pitre.
“They pay for their order over the phone and we knock on the door and leave the pizza there for them.”
