Montreal restaurants keen to open patios, but staffing shortages may cause delays

Michael Lafaille, owner of restaurantKwizinn, wants to open his patio as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, the government announced that outdoor dining would be allowed as of May 28.

However, Lafaille doesn't think he'll be ready in time.

"The main issue here is to find new staff. I'm going crazy here putting ads everywhere," he told CBC's Daybreak.

His restaurant in Verdunhas a 22-seat patio, but before he can welcome back guests for the first time in months, he needs staff to cook, clean and serve them.

"The big problem is to get the CVs to come in," he said. "We want our people back and we're hoping to keep them for the long-term."

He said after many people lost their jobs during the first wave of the pandemic, some in the industry have moved on.

"Iknow cooks who became plumbers and who went into construction instead."

Lafaille said in order to retain staff, they need reassurance that more closures aren't on the way.

"People want to make sure it's going to be back for real."

Anthony Gentile Jr., owner of Cafe Gentile, is also working on rebuilding his team. He said over the past year, he's had to lay off more than 30 employees.

"Alot of people in this industry have chosen other careers and I don'tblame them," he told CBC.

Gentile said he's working hard to gear up for a May 28 reopening, but "there's a lot to be done in 10 days."

"I'm getting the feeling of butterflies just to start seating people and taking their orders and talking to people. Soit's gonna be great, it's going to be very stressful, but it's like riding a bike, we're going to get into it very quickly."

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David Ferguson, chef and owner at Restaurant Gus, says everyone is a bit rusty after months of takeout-only service.

Gentilesaid the most difficult part of the past year has been the uncertainty for his business. He wishes the communication from the government had been more clear.

"We're hearing it atthe same time as everyone else is hearing it and it's kind of frustrating that we've been in the dark this whole time," he said.

Some restaurants waiting for street closures

Another stumbling block for restaurant owners is the fact that many patios aren't even built yet.

Lee-Ann Millaire-Lafleur, co-owner of Resto Palmeon Ste-Catherine Street East, said she's waiting on the city before she can open her outdoor dining space.

"Our street is pedestrian, so we're also going tohave to wait for the city to tell us when they're going to make it pedestrian so we can build our terrasses."

Millaire-Lafleursaid the opening is "a big source of stress right now" and she's not sure when she can start receiving customers again.

"Obviously, we would have liked to have just a little more time to prepare."

The other problem? "We don't have enough staff."

Like the others,Millaire-Lafleurhas noticed that people have been abandoning the food service industry in favour of more stable prospects.

"The people we laid off at the beginning of the pandemic, some have found other jobs and other opportunitiesand are not willing to come back," she said.

MassimoLecas, owner of restaurant Fiorellino, said he believes many boroughs are "scrambling" to issue permits so businesses can get set up outside quickly.

Beyond that, the patios need to be built as well.

"Once you've got the permit, you've got to call your carpenter to come and install them and they are swamped," he said.

Still, Lecas is hopeful that he will be open by May 28, and since he's taking reservations, he expects to be booked up.

"Quebec is known for thejoie de vivre. We've been caged for almost eight months," he said."I think everybody will be out on that weekend and a lot of people will be there to support our industry which has gone through a very difficult period."