Close X
Sunday, December 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. restaurants struggle with supply after floods

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Nov, 2021 12:38 PM
  • B.C. restaurants struggle with supply after floods

Restaurant operators in British Columbia's southern Interior are scrambling after flooding and landslides closed highways and rail lines, cutting businesses off from the supply chains they rely on.

It's the latest hurdle after 20 months of struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic and a summer of smoky skies from wildfires that wiped out tourism.

"We don't actually have more to give in this scenario," said Brandon Loughery, managing partner of Woodsman Group, which operates two pubs around Kelowna and a seasonal restaurant at the SilverStar Mountain ski resort in Vernon.

"We're already operating on razor thin margins," he said in an interview.

They've been getting ready to open the restaurant for the winter season, but in the aftermath of the flooding, they can't order what they need in bulk, Loughery said.

The two pubs in Kelowna rely on deliveries every three days, and with none in sight, Loughery said he expects they won't have enough food supplies by Monday.

They've been shopping at grocery stores, trying to keep the doors open. But that's costly for a restaurant, and while the shelves were a bit fuller by Thursday, there was little meat, milk, eggs or other produce to be found earlier in the week, he said.

Every major route connecting B.C.'s Interior with the Lower Mainland was severed by floods, mudslides or washouts after the southern part of the province was hammered by record rainfall.

If such debilitating supply challenges were to last for a month or more, Loughery speculated that some restaurants in the Interior would have to close their doors.

"If you don't hit your base number to cover your fixed costs, it doesn't take long for things to go backwards."

Goods should start flowing again as some highways are reopened and alternative routes established, but it will be a stressful couple of weeks for the industry, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association.

"It could take 10 to 20 days to sort out the logistics of new routes," Tostenson said, noting trucks usually travel to the Interior every day along the Coquihalla Highway, which is completely washed out and requires extensive repairs.

In the meantime, he said, restaurants in the Okanagan Valley area closing.

"There's not a lot of storage of products in the Interior, because mainly they just rely on overnight shipment from the Lower Mainland, so it’s a real challenge," he said.

Supply was still flowing from Alberta to northern B.C., Tostenson noted.

Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth told a news conference this week that "our transportation infrastructure is crippled," though he also said there are many parts of the province where routes are not compromised. The Retail Council of Canada and the trucking industry have been clear that "there's lots of supply," he said.

Mark von Schellwitz, western vice president for Restaurants Canada, said the disastrous flooding is yet another blow for an industry that's been contending with the impacts of the pandemic, wildfires and "rampant" inflation in food prices.

"I can't tell you the number of operators I've talked to that are exasperated, just saying what else can possibly be thrown at us, it seems like everything's conspiring against them trying to survive as a business," von Schellwitz said in an interview.

Loughery, too, said he's seen some food costs more than double in the last year and he's concerned the flooding in prime agricultural land will drive them up further.

"There's always a reason. It's because of the fires, it's because of the pandemic, now it will be because of the flooding. I haven't seen food prices this high, ever," Loughery said, adding he's had to switch products he's used for years "because they're just not in the realm of possibility of what a customer will pay for."

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11

Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11
Health Canada has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 in Canada, and the first shipment of doses is expected to arrive in the country by Sunday. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted a request for approval of a child-sized dose of its mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 on Oct. 18.

Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11

Merritt, B.C., evacuees seeking help in Kamloops

Merritt, B.C., evacuees seeking help in Kamloops
Barkad Khan wiped away tears Thursday as he made another "frustrating" visit to one of the emergency reception centres set up to help residents from Merritt, B.C., who have been forced from their homes due to unprecedented flooding. Khan said he and his family, wife Afreen and daughters Mahveen and Mahira, were given just 10 minutes to get out before their home was flooded.

Merritt, B.C., evacuees seeking help in Kamloops

Military helps ramp up flood relief efforts

Military helps ramp up flood relief efforts
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has indicated that measures could include an order preventing passage for all but essential travellers as limited access is slowly restored along some highways.

Military helps ramp up flood relief efforts

Domtar mill in Kamloops to be sold with takeover

Domtar mill in Kamloops to be sold with takeover
The companies say the facility will be sold to resolve the Competition Commissioner of Canada's concerns about the implication on the purchase of wood fibre from the Thompson/Okanagan region in British Columbia.

Domtar mill in Kamloops to be sold with takeover

B.C. farmers fight orders to leave to save animals

B.C. farmers fight orders to leave to save animals
The area is under an evacuation order because of flooding in the nearby Sumas River. Police-enforced roadblocks have been set up around the area to prevent people from coming or going.

B.C. farmers fight orders to leave to save animals

Child dead after head-on crash in B.C., RCMP say

Child dead after head-on crash in B.C., RCMP say
The Mounties say in a statement they responded to a crash on Highway 97C south of Logan Lake around 12:15 p.m. Thursday. They say the crash was between a large utility vehicle and a passenger vehicle carrying the child, whose age was not released.

Child dead after head-on crash in B.C., RCMP say

PrevNext