COVID-19: Toronto restaurants and bars ordered to close unless offering takeout or delivery

🕒 3.5 min read

Yesterday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the closure of all restaurants and bars not offering takeout and delivery services.

While many operators of full-service restaurants not previously set up for to-go options quickly pulled together take out and delivery options, others closed down operations entirely. To try and keep businesses afloat during this chaotic and uncertain time, many restaurateurs who were set to launch menus for pickup and delivery, after careful consideration decided not to move forward after all.

Some have cited that it is a public safety issue. Bloordale’s Sugo, a casual Italian restaurant at Bloor and Lansdowne, took to Instagram to share their message: “We Feel that Offering TAKE OUT is SOCIALLY IRRESPONSIBLE, UNTIL the VIRUS is UNDER CONTROL, SUGO is CLOSED until FURTHER NOTICE and we HOPE that our PEERS, RESPECT THE COMMUNITY and CLOSE UP SHOP FOR A COUPLE DAYS!!!” Many more took to social media to share they’ve also shut down operations, including Archive 909, The Gaslight, and Poor Romeo. Restaurateurs such as Lester Sabilano, owner of Lamesa Filipino Kitchen; Cory Vitiello, chef and co-founder of rotisserie and greens chain FLOCK; and celebrity chef Lynn Crawford, co-owner of Ruby Watchco, also announced indefinite closures.

Others are trying to stay afloat by offering dishes to go, but it’s increasingly difficult.. Especially as delivery platforms charge restaurants a hefty fee (it varies - usually around 30 per cent). So while American delivery platform Uber Eats promoted free delivery for customers earlier this week, it has yet to waive any fees for businesses using the service.

As diners are likely largely unaware of this (and the slim profit margins restaurants already face), customers should reach out to restaurants directly for the best way to order, to prevent any additional losses. This also applies when placing orders for other items including dairy, bread, beer, wine, liquor, and household items.

To help struggling eateries, Marcel Morgenstern, owner of Burnt Ship Bay Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, launched a petition yesterday afternoon to allow licensed restaurants across the province to include wine and beer with takeout and delivery orders. This small change would make a substantial difference to restaurants trying to survive this crisis - it was sanctioned in New York State as of yesterday. At press time, signatures for the petition had almost doubled since earlier today.

———

As the current landscape is changing dramatically and swiftly, follow Toronto Restaurants on Insta and Facebook for breaking news, visit the website for timely updates, and subscribe to the newsletter (so you can stop scrolling and catch up all at once).