Watch above: The Saskatoon restaurant scene continues to see major changes. As Wendy Winiewski reports, while many local establishments are struggling, chains are seeing Saskatoon as a hot spot.
SASKATOON – After a decade in business, independent establishment, Beily’s Ultralounge is shutting down. In its prime, the bar/restaurant had one of the most lengthy weekend wait lines in Saskatoon. The establishment will close on Feb. 15 and 40 employees will be laid off.
After 10 years in business, owner Jeff Ledding says the closure is a sad reality.
“It has been a long run but it’s that time,” said Ledding, who calls the food and beverage industry cyclical.
Beily’s is one of numerous independent restaurant casualties in recent years. It’s on a list of closures with the likes of Jake’s on 21st, Souleio, the Taj Mahal, Tusq, Caffe Sola and Weczria where Dan Walker gave it a go for eight years.
“Losing a business, I mean that was my life,” said Walker.
READ MORE: Unique food scene in Saskatoon heating up
The award-winning restaurant, known for high-quality fine dining, went bankrupt.
“I felt humiliated and ashamed and upset,” said Walker, who has worked as a chef at four other restaurants since closing his own.
- Train goes up in flames while rolling through London, Ont. Here’s what we know
- Budget 2024 failed to spark ‘political reboot’ for Liberals, polling suggests
- Wrong remains sent to ‘exhausted’ Canadian family after death on Cuba vacation
- Peel police chief met Sri Lankan officer a court says ‘participated’ in torture
According to Restaurants Canada, the restaurant environment is changing.
“Certainly independent restaurants are going to be more impacted by changes in the economy,” said Dwayne Marling, the Manitoba/Saskatchewan vice-president for Restaurants Canada. “They’re going to feel the pinch first.”
Without the financial backing of a chain restaurant, independents are more likely to go under.
Meanwhile, Saskatoon is becoming a metropolis for chain restaurants, in part because of the increasing population according to Kent Smith-Windsor with the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
“What has happened is Saskatoon is on the radar screen of many other potential players in the market. We’ve out performed the economy of the rest of the country for quite some time,” making Saskatoon an attractive option for chains, according to Smith Windsor.
New chains are numerous: Cactus Club, The Canadian Brewhouse, Cora’s, Mr. Mike’s, Brown’s Socialhouse and the soon-to-open Milestone’s. This flood of new chain restaurants hints that Saskatonians stick to the tried, tested and true.
Meanwhile, independently-owned establishments pride themselves on being different.
“Early on, we had to tell people, this is the menu, we don’t substitute things, we don’t change things,” said Walker.
“We don’t put ketchup on the steak, the dish is seasoned properly, this wine goes with that and people didn’t like that and we heard about it and we really never changed.”
Adjusting with the ebb and flow of the industry is something the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce said entrepreneurs need to be willing to do or they may become another restaurant on a growing list of independent closures.
Still, the ratio of independently-owned restaurants in Saskatchewan remains higher than chain restaurants at 57 per cent and 43 per cent respectively, according to Restaurants Canada. Nationally the ratio is 60 per cent independent and 40 per cent chain.
In comparison to Saskatchewan and the national average, Alberta is made up of 46 per cent chain restaurants and 54 per cent independent restaurants.
Sales in Canada’s food service industry were $68 billion in 2014. Saskatchewan accounted for $2 billion.
Comments