New poll finds many Toronto restaurants facing ongoing cost pressures
· Toronto Sun
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A poll of the Canadian hospitality industry is serving up higher cost pressures for Toronto restaurants with many owners expecting their menu prices to increase in the upcoming year.
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According to the 2026 Hospitality Operator Report by restaurant equipment financier EconoLease and in partnership with polling firm Leger, about three in four (74%) eateries have raised prices in the past year and nearly four in 10 (38%) said they have raised prices and plan to increase them again in the next 12 months.
That’s due to operating costs with two-thirds saying the steepest increases were for food and beverages followed by labour and wages (55%) and rent and occupancy (29%).
Rising costs and economic uncertainty
The top threats restaurant owners in the city cite over the next 12 months are rising food and beverage costs (52%), economic uncertainty or recession risk (47%), labour shortages or rising wages (34%), declining consumer spending (31%) and tariffs or supply chain disruptions (17%).
“I ran a cafe of my own before I ever worked in financing, so I understand the risks when a piece of equipment fails or you’ve outgrown your current appliances and you don’t have the cash to fix it or upgrade,” Tyrone Ho, president of EconoLease, said in a statement.
The numbers for Toronto were taken from Leger’s survey of 250 Canadian foodservice and hospitality operators and owners from June 22 to July 6.
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Trade tensions to hurt hospitality industry
The current trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. are expected to hurt the hospitality industry north of the border as U.S. tariffs imposed last month and counter-tariff measures put in place by Prime Minister Mark Carney last week will affect the price of many essential goods crossing the border.
Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada, said concerns have been raised about the impact of retaliatory tariffs on packaging, parts and equipment.
“Protecting the cost of food alone is not enough,” Higginson said in a statement last week . “Restaurants rely on a broader food system — including the equipment, packaging and infrastructure needed to prepare, preserve and serve food.
“When these critical inputs are subject to tariffs, operators face additional cost pressures that affect investment, employment and the cost of doing business.”
According to the survey, eateries said the equipment they could least afford to lose is refrigeration (62%), cooking equipment (53%) and point-of-sale and technology hardware (40%).
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Budgeting for equipment upgrades
In addition, half of Toronto restaurants are planning or actively budgeting for an equipment upgrade, while nearly a quarter want to upgrade equipment but cannot afford to at the moment.
Meanwhile, the survey found the typical Toronto restaurant operator reported a median overall cost increase of 7.5% over the last year.
However, 43% said their profit margins improved over the past year while 24% reported a decline.
Despite the financial pressure, 74% of Toronto eateries said they felt optimistic about the year ahead.