Full marks to those in the food and beverage business in this province and this country – they are doing what they need to do to survive.
We have just seen November’s numbers for this industry and there are some interesting trends emerging throughout the country.
First of all, proprietors of bars and restaurant are dealing with their fiscal realities, making the difficult decisions to pass rising costs on to customers.
Food prices in restaurants nationally rose 3.4-percent in November. While this is not a surprise for patrons of the food service industry it is also a reality for those looking to survive in turbulent times.
Liquor prices also went up …roughly 2.5-percent.
As a result, overall gross receipts in restaurants, bars and fast-food outlets rose in most of the country in November with the exception of Saskatchewan and Alberta – we were off about a half-percentage point. And the biggest increase was in Ontario which enjoyed the Taylor Swift lift that month.
