The downtown Vancouver restaurant’s co-owner, Melissa McCusker, said a significant rent increase pushed the business to shut after nearly five years.
She said prolonged Main Street Promise construction cut customer traffic and parking visibility, worsening an already difficult 18 months for local restaurants.
Rising food, fertilizer and fuel costs also squeezed margins, making the restaurant’s finances no longer viable, according to McCusker.
How could Vancouver’s Main Street Promise project be restructured to support businesses like The Sedgwick, rather than contributing to their closure?
As almost half of Canadian restaurants now operate at a loss, could new government policies or industry innovations reverse this downward spiral?
With global fertilizer and fuel disruptions pushing food prices up, what strategies can restaurants use to survive the next wave of cost increases?