High school students are learning from home. Their local lunch spot misses them

On a regular weekday morning, Big Bite Pizza and Wings is crowded with students from Sir John A. McDonald High School just across the street. 

The lunch rush typically translates into the sale of about 160 pizza slices a day — a big chunk of the Waterloo, Ont. restaurant's business. 

But around noon on Tuesday, it was empty. 

"Without the school, we definitely struggle," manager John Wang said.

Wang's restaurant isn't the only one in this predicament.

At many high schools in the region, there's a nearby pizza place or shawarma shop where students and teachers flock during lunch hour to get a quick bite. 

But with the return of in-person school delayed until at least Jan. 17, these businesses are missing a big chunk of their consumer base. 

'It's really tough'

Zaia Hermiz is manager of Foreign Shawarma in Kitchener, about a 10-minute walk from Resurrection Catholic Secondary School. 

"I'm going to lose a lot of money," Hermiz said.

Hermiz's restaurant sells a lot of shawarma poutine to students during lunch hour. It adds up to about $300 to $400 a day. 

With no students around, Hermiz estimates he's losing about 30 per cent of the restaurant's revenue. 

"We have bills, we have rent to pay, too," he said. "It's really tough."

Steps away from Foreign Shawarma is City Pizza, which also relies heavily on students. 

Owner Sandip Patel bought the restaurant in November. Business was booming during the fall semester, but these days, Patel spends a lot of time behind the counter alone. 

"It's all about the students, this business," Patel said. "Now it's boring time, no one [is] coming here." 

At Gino's Pizza in Cambridge, near both Jacob Hespeler Secondary School and Heritage College and Seminary, it was also quiet Tuesday afternoon. 

"Normally there is like three plates of slices over here," said employee Mitali Vyas, indicating the restaurant's display case. 

"But because [of] the restrictions and the COVID situation, and the colleges and schools closed, so that's why I just make one." 

Important role in local economy, says prof

Dominic Lim, an assistant professor in the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont., says these types of small restaurants play a "very, very important" role in the economy. They create jobs, pay taxes and operate in the local community, he said. 

"We can never underestimate the importance of these conventional small businesses." 

They may not have the cash reserves of a larger operation, but Lim noted these restaurants do have the advantage of already being geared toward takeout and delivery — something dine-in restaurants have at times struggled with during the pandemic. 

Vyas said she's confident business will pick up again once students return to school, while Hermiz said he's just taking it "one day at a time."

"I know the government is doing this for safety … so let's hope they open," he said. 

Patel said he understands health is more important than business, but hopes people get their third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine so life can begin to return to normal. 

As for Wang, he's found an unexpected source of revenue to help tide him over until school returns: students who want their lunchtime pizza fix and are ordering pies for their parents to pick up. 

"Not as many as if they were here [in person] … but some do still miss pizza."