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Valentine’s Day a welcome boost for struggling local restaurants

Posted:February 13, 2026 | 8:43 PM
By: Jason Gaidola

By:Jason Gaidola

Updated: February 13, 2026 | 8:43 PM

Profitability is becoming harder to come by for more restaurants these days.

Restaurants Canada released its latest survey results, which reveal that nearly half of its respondents say they’re not making any financial gains.

Plenty of restaurants are expecting a good amount of traffic for Valentine’s Day this weekend, but on an average night, the financial crunch is real and it directly ties to rising labour and food costs, forcing them to constantly adjust to stay in business.

The chef and owner at Victoria’s Steak & Seafood on Hamilton’s King Street, says quality beef from local sources and Latin America is worth the cost when trying to deliver a quality meal and experience.

Particularly when a special occasion is in sight.

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“Valentine’s Day itself, this has been booked for over a month, which is really phenomenal. Today as well, we’re full,” says Andrew Berry-Ashpole, chef and owner of Victoria’s Steak & Seafood.

“When new diners join us or even regulars come in, we really have to make sure we impress them and give them that experience. I think that’s one of the things many restaurants can do.”

However, according to Berry-Ashpole profit margins are slim, just like many establishments across the industry are currently facing a cash crunch.

“What’s impossible to get around is the fact that fuel is more expensive, to get a repair nowadays, that material cost is more expensive. We just had to replace a few things around the restaurant and they were two-to-three times more expensive than it was this time last year,” Berry-Ashpole says.

According to the latest survey done by Restaurants Canada, more than half of its responding members say profitability is much worse in 2025.

As of November of last year, 44 percent of restaurants are operating at a loss or breaking even.

That’s a little higher than the 41 percent last June and a sharp contrast to just 12 percent in 2019.

“They’re trying to streamline menus, trying to make sure they’re picking ingredients and menu options that are more affordable for Canadians. I think we’ll continue to see restaurants go down that road and try to do everything they can to make meals as affordable as possible,” says Kris Barnier, the Central Canada Vice President for Restaurants Canada.

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The report also says the price tag for food remains the top concern for nearly all operators, and labour costs continue to rise.

Food researchers at Dalhousie University have forecasted that closures will outpace openings in 2026, roughly 4,000 eateries at-risk.

Sylvain Charlebois says government action on issues like inter-provincial trade and a tax cut would help alleviate some of the pressure.

“We saw what happened with the GST holiday, it would really help to be honest. I frankly don’t understand why we’re still taxing food in Canada, no matter the food, I think it’s time to have that conversation as a country,” says Charlebois, a food researcher at Dalhousie University.

Countless bars and restaurants continue to evolve around labour and food costs, on the other side, diners continue to make adjustments as well.

“Maybe we won’t splurge as much as we normally do, or we won’t be out as frequently as we typically would be.”

“Prices are up with everything. I just go locally, I just go to restaurants here.”

Restaurants Canada concluded in their report, that in order to help establishments boost revenues, they are calling on the federal government to do away with GST applied on certain food, and create an environment to close the labour shortage gap, which includes accelerating permanent residency.