Restaurant costs for 2020 will be much lower than initially forecast as consumers spend more of their dining-out budgets at grocery stores instead, according to an updated food price report that predicts annual restaurant sales will be slashed in half. “It all comes down to … the result of people having to change the way they buy and consume food,” said Simon Somogyi, a University of Guelph associate professor who co-authored the report with Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen restaurants across the country close or shift to delivery and pick-up models amid efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.