REGINA -- Many Saskatchewan businesses are now allowed to reopen, but a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says 25 per cent of small businesses are worried about being forced to close permanently.
CFIB surveyed its Saskatchewan members and found that only 20 per cent, or one in five, are making regular sales for this time of the year.
Houston Pizza is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The owner said he never would have expected to be celebrating the 50th year of business, during a pandemic.
“We hope that with the support from the community we can come out stronger than ever, but its something that we've been watching closely,” owner of Houston Pizza, Jim Kolitsas said.
The restaurant has nine locations in Saskatchewan, including five in Regina.
Kolitsas said he had to lay off 95 staff members when the pandemic hit, a decision that wasn’t made lightly.He thought the situation would improve, but so far, his restaurants have seen a decrease in customers for this time of year.
“The [restaurant] that we’re at now has a bigger footprint, so we can operate at 50 per cent capacity, however, there are still a lot of people that are afraid to come out to eat so we’re not reaching 50 per cent capacity,” Kolitsas said.
CFIB says its integral to support local businesses as the economy recovers.
“We need to get back to recovery and the only way we're going to do that is to support small businesses,” Vice-President for Western Canada and Agri-Business, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Marilyn Braun-Pollen said. “Lets not forget, they create the vast majority of jobs, they employee your family, your friends, your neighbours and they are your neighbours."
