Restaurants are ready for the Games

VANCOUVER—Coming off a less than stellar 2009, restaurant operators in Vancouver and Whistler hope the Olympic Winter Games leave those mediocre memories behind. With the Games just two weeks away, it’s already happening.

Since Christmas, restaurants are reporting an increase in business, something that is predicted to continue through the Games and into the summer.

“Everyone is pretty happy about the Olympics. It’s just the amount of volume that people are concerned about,” said Steve Edwards, restaurant director at Araxi in Vancouver.

“I’m not worried for us. Certain people are worried about extending their liquor license (in time).”

For Edwards, the larger problem relates to staffing. He said several staff have left their job at Araxi leading up the to the Games after they found themselves without places to live. It seems landlords have kicked tenants out of their apartments to make way for higher paying customers attending the Games.

Three new servers have been hired at Araxi, but Edwards said he has not had any problems meeting the restaurant’s increased staffing needs.

Of greater concern is the limitation on deliveries to restaurants and other businesses during the Games.

“Due to the limited road network and reduced parking in Whistler, service deliveries and goods movement in Whistler Village and Upper Village must be scheduled between midnight and 6 am for the month of February 2010,” reads the official Vancouver Olympics website.

“We have to have someone there all night to receive food,” Edwards said. The extra staff hours are an added expense for the restaurant during the three weeks of the Games.

As well, the restaurant is also open for lunch to handle the extra crowds expected in the village. Normally, Araxi is only open for dinner during the winter months, but rules have changed for the Olympics.

A couple of hours down the Sea to Sky Highway in Vancouver, similar restrictions on deliveries and on-street parking are in effect along with road closures and venue security perimeters.

“It is strongly recommended that service deliveries and goods movement in Downtown Vancouver be scheduled between midnight and 6 a.m. for the month of February 2010.  If before 6 a.m. is not possible, the next preferred window is before noon,” states the Vancouver 2010 website.

Cars are being kept out of the downtown core and away from venues as residents and Games visitors are being encouraged, or in some cases, forced, to take public transit.

At Joe Fortes in Vancouver, marketing manager Andrea Mestrovic said the restaurant has hired an additional 20 staff for the Games, bringing the total complement up to 240.

“We are having our deliveries arranged well in advance. With the parking restrictions, our deliveries are coming at night at the back door,” Mestrovic said.
“There is an increased cost with staff levels. We’ve had no problem finding staff as we have been hiring over the last five months.”

She said the increased business from the Games is going to more than offset the costs for staffing from extending restaurant hours. Joe Fortes’ rooftop has been turned into a sports bar during the Olympics.

“There’s definitely excitement about the Games, but there are a lot of unknowns,” Mestrovic admits.

At Cactus Club Cafe, operators of 11 locations in the Lower Mainland, TVs have been added to its locations to make the restaurants more “Olympic friendly,” said operations manager Andrew Latchford.

“We expect our sales to go up 25 per cent as a minimum in all our locations in the Lower Mainland,” he said.

Cactus Club has added staff to its restaurants, including scheduling people between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. to accept deliveries. Extra staff has been brought in from the company’s suburban locations to Vancouver to handle the expected increase in crowds.

“It’s going to offset the HST. In our business, this is a blessing. There will be a residual tourism boost. Anybody that lives here knows this is a great place to live and go out for dinner,” Latchford said.


--Images: Copywrite VANOC/COVAN