London Fine Furniture on Wharncliffe Road South is closed, its staff laid off, and heat and hydro are shut off, but the company is still on the hook for about $26,500 in monthly rent, including HST, according to owner Harold Duesbury. “With zero dollars coming in and still having bills to pay, it makes it very tight,” he said.
Duesbury believes he’ll be OK — he is “trying to work something out” with his landlords, who he says have been good to him over the years — but many of his friends who are restaurant owners or other small business owners are wondering if their businesses will survive the coronavirus pandemic. “A lot of them are telling me if this goes on for a couple of months that they’re probably going to go out of business.” It’s a