Item - 2023.EC6.3

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to review and propose changes to the Winterlicious/Summerlicious program so it more effectively and equitably supports restaurants across Toronto based on the results of the two restaurant and hospitality surveys, and report back to Council in the first quarter of  2024 on options within its existing financial framework.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to work with relevant divisions to improve access to City-run programs with a focus on underserved restaurant segments outside of the downtown core, based on the results of the two restaurant and hospitality surveys.

3. City Council convey appreciation to the Government of Canada for extending the repayment deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans and request that they also extend the qualification for partial loan forgiveness of up to 33 per cent to December 31, 2024.

4. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to identify available resources that can be shared with restaurant owners facing displacement due to development, as part of the Division’s next update in the first quarter of 2024 to City Councillors on City supports available to small businesses.

While the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted many sectors of Toronto's economy, the restaurant industry experienced especially stringent public health measures and associated market changes and now faces a difficult path to economic recovery. As directed by City Council through its consideration of the report titled Supporting Restaurants in Toronto: Recovery and Renewal (2022.EC28.2), this report shares the findings from two surveys that engaged with Toronto’s restaurant and hospitality industry in 2022, and identifies related opportunities to improve existing or inform the development of new supports for different segments of the sector.

While existing City restaurant and small business support programs such as Winterlicious/Summerlicious (WL/SL) and the Small Business Property Tax sub-class were found to be generally viewed positively, findings from these surveys illustrate continued challenges facing Toronto's restaurant owners and operators, as well as variable recovery across different sector segments and geographies of Toronto’s restaurant industry. The findings of the surveys, combined with additional research, demonstrate the need to review the WL/SL program and underscore the importance of improving the design, awareness and uptake of the City’s restaurant and small business support programs, especially among quick serve, often family-run, restaurants located outside the downtown core which are not connected to a Business Improvement Area (BIA).