‘It just didn’t seem like that over-the-top business we anticipated’

The Canada Games were estimated to bring millions into St. John’s economy, but three downtown restaurant managers say the anticipated crowd numbers never materialized.

 

Olivia Taylor
Kicker

 

This summer, restaurants prepared for a busy August with thousands of Canada Games attendees coming to town. 

Three downtown restaurant managers said they weren’t as busy as they anticipated, some even saw slower sales than the previous August.

Cojones’, on Water Street, general manager Nick Kehoe compared August to last year’s numbers and found an unexpected drop.

“From August 1st to September 1st this year and last year, the sales did go down comparative. Whether that was to do with the Canada Games or not, it’s strange because I was not expecting that,” said Kehoe. “They were ordering more product, putting more people on schedules, they were expecting it to be busy.”

Planning for the Canada Games began at least a year ago. Volunteers were recruited, construction was completed, and millions were spent preparing for the influx of tourism in province’s capital city. In a CBC article, Mayor Danny Breen predicted it to be a bustling time.

“This place is going to be on wheels,” said Breen in the article. “This is going to be a big year for tourism.”

While a Games media representative responded to an initial interview request, follow-up queries went unanswered. 

According to a federal government website, the Games were expected to have an economic impact of over $120 million. Some 5,000 athletes were expected by organizers. In an August CBC article, Breen contended that 10,000 to 15,000 additional visitors were expected.

All those athletes and their families needed to eat, so restaurants prepared accordingly. Some ordered more product, added staff to schedules, and got ready for the expected rush brought on by the Games.

That rush never came.

Blue on Water, a popular downtown restaurant and hotel, is usually busy. Operations manager, Sullivan Power, anticipated the Games would push them even further.

“We anticipated it being pretty busy… the summer is usually pretty crazy for us anyways, and we thought the Canada Games would just build upon that,” said Power.

The demand, he said, didn’t match expectations. 

“Surprisingly, no — not that it was quiet by any stretch, but the daytimes were a little slower.”

“It just didn’t seem like that over-the-top business we anticipated.”

LIV, a newer restaurant known for its pan-Asian fusion food on Water Street, had a similar experience. Restaurant manager Pablo Davila said they didn’t prepare much differently than other years, but still expected more.

“We were expecting the street to be busier than previous summers… we thought it was going to be really hard to even find a spot to go eat.”

Although LIV stayed busy this summer, Divali noticed it was mostly tourists who weren’t there for the Games.

Power said the hotel at Blue on Water was also impacted by things such as the Air Canada strike that occurred during the Games

“We had a lot of cancellations,” said Power.

 

Contributing factors: 

• Venue Food: Athletes were housed at Memorial University where meals were served at R. Gushue Hall. Most athletes’ meals were covered by their teams, and eating on campus was convenient while giving teams a chance to bond with teammates.
  
• Event Timing and Location: Games events took place all over town at different times. For families watching their kids compete, they were at the Games and not dining out. 
  
  
• Economic Pressures: Travelling to Newfoundland during peak tourism season isn’t cheap and inflation tightened budgets even further.
  
  
• Wildfires: An unexpected factor during the Games was the wildfire outbreak in Newfoundland. Many people outside of the city were wary of leaving their homes while on evacuation alert.