Food, labour, credit card costs top challenges for restaurants: survey

August 12, 2014, Toronto – Most Canadian restaurant
owners say business is stable or growing but they are being hit hard by rising
costs for food, labour and credit card processing, suggests a Restaurants
Canada survey.

August 12, 2014, Toronto – Most Canadian restaurant
owners say business is stable or growing but they are being hit hard by rising
costs for food, labour and credit card processing, suggests a Restaurants
Canada survey.

Higher food costs are a concern for 70 per cent of
respondents, and higher labour costs are a concern for 68 per cent. In
addition, 42 per cent of respondents are struggling with escalating fees
charged by the big banks to process credit card payments, indicates the latest Restaurant
Outlook Survey.

“The good news is that business is growing and restaurant
operators want to add more jobs,” says Garth Whyte, president and CEO of
Restaurants Canada, in a news release. “The bad news is, their operating costs
are growing at an even faster pace. This, combined with labour shortages in
some regions, creates a very challenging business environment.” 

The survey covers the second quarter (April through June) of
2014 and results represent more than 8,000 businesses across Canada, including
restaurants, bars, caterers and other foodservice operations.

Top 5 challenges for foodservice operator

1.    Food costs (70%
of respondents)

2.    Labour costs
(68%)

3.    Credit card
merchant fees (42%)

4.    Bad weather
(33%)

5.    Shortage of
skilled labour (32%)