Restaurants Canada looks forward to continuing to work closely with the province on efforts to help foodservice businesses reopen and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
FREDERICTON, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Restaurants Canada is preparing its members to enter Phase 2 of the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan, allowing restaurants to resume on-premise dining services under new guidelines.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants have provided their communities with safe and reliable meal options and this will continue to be their priority as they reopen their doors to diners,” said Luc Erjavec, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Atlantic Canada. “Restaurants Canada looks forward to continuing to work closely with the province on efforts to help foodservice businesses get ready to reopen their dining rooms and ramp up operations.”
Restaurants Canada has provided New Brunswick’s restaurants with best practices to help them comply with government guidance as they reopen on-premise dining services.
“This is the first step in what we know will be a long road to recovery for our industry, and we’ll continue to need assistance from all levels of government,” added Erjavec.
Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Brunswick’s foodservice sector represented 4 per cent of the province’s GDP and was the province’s fourth-largest private sector employer. The sector was among the first and hardest hit by COVID-19, losing more than 13,000 jobs by the end of March.
About Restaurants Canada
Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing the potential of Canada’s diverse and dynamic foodservice industry through member programs, research, advocacy, resources and events. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Brunswick’s foodservice sector was a $1.6 billion industry, directly employing nearly 22,000 people, providing the province’s number one source of first jobs and serving tens of thousands of customers every day. New Brunswick’s foodservice industry has since lost about 13,700 jobs and is on track to lose as much as $290 million in sales over the second quarter of 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19.
For more information, contact:
Luc Erjavec
Vice President, Atlantic Canada
Restaurants Canada
C: 902-209-0804
Toll-free: 1-800-387-5649 ext. 5000
lerjavec@restaurantscanada.org