How Ottawa's oldest businesses are toughing it out through COVID-19

They survived such catastrophic events as the Spanish flu, two world wars and the Great Depression.

How are some of Ottawa's most venerable businesses coping through the coronavirus pandemic?

CBC reached out to ask how they're doing.

Château Lafayette, Est. 1849

General manager Deek Labelle gave birth in mid-March and is safe at home with little Nathan while her ByWard Market baby, the Château Lafayette, remains closed.

"The Laff," billed as Ottawa's oldest tavern, dates back to 1849, and is very much still alive and kicking.

"It's hard to believe. The fact that it's still here and still surviving and thriving speaks volumes," Labelle said. "I don't want to jinx it."

There have been hard times, she said, but nothing quite like this.

"This is the hardest one we've ever endured. The smoking bylaw would be the closest second to it, for the severity of an overnight change." 

To survive Ottawa's smoking crackdown, the venerable watering hole was severed in two, with half becoming a Quiznos franchise so the remaining bar could sustain itself.

Unlike other establishments, The Laff hasn't stayed open for takeout or delivery during the pandemic.

"The bar is the experience. You can't take that out," Labelle observed.

Labelle hopes to reopen this summer and is considering applying for a larger patio so customers, when they return, can spread out and enjoy themselves like old times.

"We just want to see our regulars again, our friends. These are people we see weekly, if not daily."

Marchand Electric, Est. 1892

Jacques Marchand can trace his family's lighting and electrical business back three generations. 

"My father's father's father," Marchand noted proudly. He's the fourth.

Founded just 14 years after Thomas Edison unveiled the first practical incandescent light bulb, Marchand Electric has seen its share of history. Now, the company is trying to survive COVID-19.

"We have experience with slowdowns before, and the trick … is to react quickly. You have to look at your costs and your staff. We had to lay some people off, unfortunately," Marchand said.

A skeleton staff continues to work at the Algoma Road location. Retail sales have been limited to online purchases, but the store has been deemed an essential service because they supply to hospitals.

There are already signs things are picking up: Marchand has recalled three of the six people he laid off. 

"So we got the guys back working in the warehouse. They're also working on inventories and painting floors. Make-work projects. You have to retain these employees," he said.

Marchand is also trying to convince clients to plan —  and order — ahead.

"You've got a project coming up? Why don't we talk about it now instead of freaking out at the last minute, two months from now?"

ER Fisher Menswear, Est. 1905

Sonia Fisher is a fourth-generation purveyor of quality men's clothing, a retail business established by her great-grandfather, Emerson Ralph Fisher, 115 years ago. 

It was ER Fisher who got the company through the Depression years. Part of company lore is that "he did not lay off a single person," Sonia Fisher noted. Back then, the company reduced its hours, but stayed open.

With COVID-19, things are different. Forced to close the Westboro store, Fisher has had to lay off 12 employees.

"I didn't want to get the business in a situation where we were worse off five to six months down the road," she said.

Most spring merchandise had already been delivered, but "anything that hadn't arrived, we cancelled," Fisher said. They're already trimming back on their fall orders.

"It'll take time for people to develop confidence again in the economy," Fisher said, "so we are predicting a drop in sales over the next year."

Unlike other retailers, ER Fisher doesn't sell online. Personalized service has always been its brand. Now, Fisher admits it might be time to update that business model.

"It's definitely something that we're going to be ramping up. It's a sore spot for me because I worry that I should have done it a little sooner."

McIntosh and Watts, Est. 1906

McIntosh and Watts started out as a coffee and tea emporium, with deliveries made by horse and buggy.  

"We could have been Starbucks," jokes the company's fourth-generation president, Peter McIntosh, who's been selling china and tableware for 35 years.

His grandfather, Grant McIntosh, was stationed in England during the Second World War and made connections at factories that made fine bone china, which he began exporting to Canada, far away from German bombs.

"They adapted. They did everything they could to continue to function," McIntosh said. "That's how you have to survive." 

Fast-forward to 2020. The store on Industrial Avenue has been closed since mid-March, the company's online and wholesale business now operating out of McIntosh's home. 

"We're adapting. We're working hard on the parts of our business we can continue to develop. We've just scaled everything back," McIntosh said.

Frisby Tire, Est. 1920

"Frisby the Vulcanizer" was established by Don Frisby's great-uncle, George Frisby, upon his discharge after the First World War. 

The company survived the Great Depression, but Don Frisby said he never heard the stories about how they managed. 

"They were ... men of very few words. All those guys did was work."

Deemed essential, the business has been allowed to stay open, but retail customers have been staying away and business is down 30 per cent. It's been a "double whammy," Frisby said, arriving at what's normally one of his busiest seasons.

He's responded by resetting his expectations.

"My goal all along has been to keep as many people working as possible and to stay open and forget about being profitable. We just want to be able to keep functioning as a business," Frisby said.

Of his 100 employees, just one has had a layoff notice. "Our on-the-road salesperson, whom nobody wants to see. Poor guy," Frisby said.

So why not let a few more go until this thing blows over?

"Right from my great-uncle and my father and through to me, we've always understood ... that our customers and the people who look after our customers are the most important aspect of the business," Frisby said.