It’s considered to add salt to the wound as the Salt and Brick restaurant in downtown Kelowna, B.C., announces its closure after some 10 years in business.
“This decision is probably the decision I should have made a year ago,” said owner Casey Greabeiel. “I really believed that maybe we could get it to turn around.”
The popular restaurant is the latest to be swallowed up by tough economic conditions.
“It just didn’t make business sense to be open any longer,” Greabeiel said.
Greabeiel is far from alone.
A new report released this week by Restaurants Canada paints a bleak outlook for the industry.
The Foodservices 2025 report reveals 75 per cent of Canadians are eating out less often due to the rising cost of living.
That number jumps to 81 per cent among younger generations aged 18 and 34 years old.
“We’re coming off a time where after COVID, we had a bit of a rebound in 2023 but then in 2024, we just saw a record number of restaurant bankruptcies,” said Mark von Schellwitz, Western Canadian vice-president of Restaurants Canada.
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According to Restaurants Canada, 41 per cent of its 30,000 members are either taking financial losses or just breaking even as operating costs skyrocket, compared to just 12 per cent pre-pandemic.
“We have to eat a lot of those costs and menu inflation is only around 4 per cent yet our operating costs are up by about 20 per cent,” von Schellwitz said. “That puts a lot of restaurants in a very difficult situation.”
Numerous restaurants in Kelowna have closed their doors in recent years, including well-established ones such as Raudz and the Fixx Cafe.
Those restaurateurs holding on are hoping for better days ahead.
“It hasn’t been the best year for the Okanagan for sure,” said Robyn Sigurdson, chef de cuisine and manager at Sunny’s, A Modern Diner in Kelowna.”Everybody is watching their dollars and cents and we see that and we feel that.”
Amid the struggle, there’s a new blow as restaurants now face a liquor supply shortage with B.C. liquor stores and distribution warehouses currently behind BCGEU picket lines.
“We’re hearing from members that some of them are going to start running out of liquor product within two weeks,” von Schellwitz said. “So that is obviously another big challenge that we will have to overcome.”
They are challenges Greabeiel hopes to over come at his two other Kelowna restaurants, Pretty Not Bad and Diner Deluxe, as they get set to close the doors to Salt and Brick on Oct. 6.
“We truly appreciate the support for small and independent restaurants,” Greabeiel said.
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Tough economic times for Canada take another bite out of Kelowna dining scene
