Winnipeg restaurant looks to change menu to avoid ingredients hit by tariffs
'My biggest concern [is] having to raise prices,' Peasant Cookery manager says as tariffs take effect
At least one Winnipeg restaurant is making changes to its menu to avoid costly tariffs on some ingredients amid the trade war between the United States and Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration slapped a 25 per cent levy on virtually all Canadian goods coming into that country earlier this week.
In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government imposed tariffs on an initial tranche of $30 billion worth of American goods on Tuesday, promising $125 billion more will face levies in about three weeks' time.
With the counter-tariffs, Peasant Cookery, a restaurant in Winnipeg's Exchange District, is working to recraft its menu to phase out U.S. products in favour of Canadian ingredients.
"[We're] trying to support our local shops with local produce and distributors. I think it's really important for us to take this into perspective," Flora Giordani, the restaurant's general manager, said Wednesday.
But every dish on the menu is prepared or served with at least one ingredient imported from the U.S., and Giordani said finding alternatives to some products has been challenging. Even some products produced outside North America come to Canada via the U.S.
"Vegetables are impossible to source from Canada all year long," Giordani said. "We are trying to get things from Mexico.… The only question we have right now is, is it boxed at the border?"
To minimize food waste, Peasant Cookery plans to first use the ingredients already on hand, but "we are going to be changing menus seasonally … depending on what we can source and where. It's going to be a lot more work," Giordani said.
There's also the fear sourcing more products locally could drive up the cost of "a lot of things," she said.
"My biggest concern [is] having to raise prices," said Giordani, but "I don't think we'll be doing that anytime soon. We're going to try to make it work how it is."
No more Kentucky bourbon
Peasant Cookery is also finding alcohol alternatives to pour in their patrons' glasses.
Giordani said the restaurant is also no longer selling American alcohol, after Premier Wab Kinew announced Tuesday all U.S. products are being removed from shelves at the province's liquor stores in response to the tariffs.
A provincial spokesperson said bars and restaurants can either sell their U.S. alcohol stock on hand or return it to the Manitoba Liquor Mart where they purchased it.
But Peasant Cookery said thousands of dollars worth of already purchased liquor, including California wine and Kentucky bourbon, has been wrapped up in boxes — a business decision to support Canada Giordani welcomed as a new opportunity.
"This is our chance to try … new liquors, new things that we haven't had a chance to do yet because we haven't had to look for it," she said. "It's time to explore more of our Canadian goods."
The Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association said that while businesses had been preparing for the hit of the trade war, counter-tariffs will have a "massive" impact on an industry in which it says around half of owners are either just breaking even or losing money.
Shaun Jeffrey, the association's CEO, said businesses are still reeling from inflation that started during the COVID-19 pandemic, driving up food prices and leaving many businesses absorbing the cost to avoid passing it on to consumers.
"Increasing them another 25 per cent is … pretty monumental," he said, and will affect "our ability to be profitable and viable for the future."
Beef, poultry and produce are expected to increase in price, he said. While some products can be purchased in Canada, that might also come with extra costs.
"How do we relate that back to the consumers?" Jeffrey said.
"There's not an industry in the world that wants to support local more [than] the restaurant industry. We do it every day. But it's just about the ability to be able to do it in a viable manner."
Jeffrey said it may not be long before some restaurants have to close up shop, as owners face shrinking profit margins and suffer more blows to morale.
"We don't know how long this [trade war] is going to last. Obviously, the uncertainty with the counterparts in the U.S. is just mind-blowing," he said.
But "that uncertainty is … that final nail in the coffin that an operator says, 'Enough is enough. I just can't do this anymore.'"
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With files from Matt Humphrey and Faith Fundal