Province tops up funding for half-price dining deal to $875K due to strong demand
CBC News | Posted: March 30, 2021 10:00 AM | Last Updated: March 30, 2021
Charlottetown restaurant owners say promotion has been good for everyone
The P.E.I. government is spending another $375,000 on a campaign to help restaurants hit hard by the pandemic, after the first $500,000 in funding was nearly used up in just seven days.
The province launched the Dine In and Save promotion on March 21 with the expectation that it would run until March 31.
However, all but $80,000 of the original $500,000 allocated to the project was spent in the first week, Economic Growth Minister Matthew MacKay said.
That prompted a topup to the deal, a partnership between the P.E.I. Restaurant Association, Canada's Food Island and Tourism P.E.I.
MacKay said some participating restaurants are reporting a major increase in business, about 75 per cent.
Dine In and Save sees the province pick up half the tab, up to $15 per person, for food and non-alcoholic beverages at more than 70 participating restaurants. Only dine-in meals from Sunday through Wednesday are covered.
'It's nice to be busy'
Anna Zeng, owner of Kings BBQ and Chinese Food, didn't take part in the first week, but signed up for the phase that started Sunday.
She said the surge was noticeable on the program's first day at her restaurant on Capital Drive in Charlottetown.
"It's very good for the Islander," she said. "They can have a chance to go out to eat, and also it's helping the restaurant owner to support their business."
Richard Court, who owns the Pilot House in downtown Charlottetown, said they underestimated the demand for the program and had to bring in extra staff to keep up.
"Since the pandemic we've noticed that the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday have fallen off in a greater degree than our Fridays and Saturdays," he said.
"So it's nice to have the restaurants full again those days, and it's nice to see new faces, and it's nice to be busy."
Court said with physical distancing, his restaurant can handle slightly over 50 per cent capacity.
He said the restaurant community is excited because of the surge from the program, the Meat N' Badaydas culinary showcase beginning April 1, and the planned opening of the Atlantic bubble by April 19.
"We had a rough one on 2020," he said. "We're optimistic that 2021 will kind of gloss over some of those losses."