An “exceptional” Easter holiday for restaurant owners in Quebec

The Easter long weekend has allowed restaurateurs in the national capital to do good business, especially thanks to the influx of tourists.

Around Chateau Frontenac and Port St. Louis, there were many visitors early Monday afternoon, despite the gray that was settling in the sky.

He met tourists from the suburbs of Montreal as well as from the United States and Dubai NewspaperIt all passes over the long weekend.

The customers were there, whether in restaurants or bars, confirms the president of Action Promotion Grande Allée, Jonathan Oulat.

“We had a very good run Life de Noy […] There are some who wanted to take advantage of it before the last days of the weekend, which they often spend with family,” notes Mr. Olat.

According to him, hotel occupancy rates in the area were “very good,” and therefore there were a lot of tourists on the streets of Quebec.

This is also what Yannick Barnett, owner of several restaurants in Old Quebec, has noticed.

“Easter is always very good!” he says in an interview with Newspaper. “The weather has helped us a lot this year.”

The sun and warmer temperatures have really been around for the past few days.

Passenger count data was still preliminary late Monday morning, but Mr Barnett could already describe his Saturday as “exceptional”.

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Like some restaurants in the greater Montreal area, restaurants in Quebec must also handle canceled reservations with less than 24 hours' notice.

“We're stuck in this!” says Yannick Barnett, who nevertheless claims to be “saved” by customers who pass through his stores. “Being in Old Quebec, we have a lot of people walking and stopping.”

Photo by Jean-Philippe Guilbault

The restaurant owner stresses that efforts must be made to educate customers.

“It's always an issue we pay close attention to because it can quickly impact our sales,” says Jonathan Olat. But I would say that after the pandemic, we really felt awareness from customers.

During the holiday season, one restaurant in Quebec saw 30% of its reservations for an evening not honored, causing a significant loss of income.