'A tough time': Business owner speaks out after 100% increase in CaféTO fees

CBC

a day ago

A Toronto business owner says his CaféTO patio fees have increased by $1,000 this year, resulting in uncertainty and stress.
Nick Lui, owner and chef at Little Italy's DaiLo, has been taking part in the summer patio program since it first launched as a temporary measure in 2020.
He says he paid about $900 in CaféTO fees last year, but had to pay almost $1,900 this year – more than a 100 per cent increase.
"We're going through a tough time," he told CBC News on Wednesday.
"All these extra costs affect the bottom line. When you're a small business, especially like a restaurant, your margins are pretty small," said Lui.
CaféTO started in 2020 as a temporary way to help restaurants stay open through COVID-19 restrictions by allowing them to expand outside, taking over curbs and parking spaces with patio space. Following positive feedback from restaurants and the public, the program became permanent in 2023.
In 2023, the annual permit was $14.56 per square metre for sidewalk patios and $43.70 per square metre for curb lane patios, while application fees were $285.
This year, the annual permit was $44.14 per square metre for sidewalk patios and $132.42 per square metre for curb lane patios, while application fees were $977.45.
Liu says the city should be doing something to help restaurants, not the opposite.
"This is something to help the restaurant, not just something to make money for the government," said Lui.
Mayor Olivia Chow says the city wants the restaurants that are taking some of the road spaces to pay a "small share of the cost to help put the patio out there."
"We are still subsidizing these small businesses because it's important to generate support," said Chow at a news conference in Scarborough Wednesday. "But we just don't want to do 100 per cent of it, which is why the restaurants are paying a share of the cost."
The city of Toronto said in a statement Wednesday that it charges fees for the usage of public space as a standard policy to ensure "fairness to businesses and taxpayers."
Fees have been phased in between 2023 and 2025 to ensure manageable costs for operators while supporting the program's growth, the city said.
"This phased in approach re-introduced fees at 33 per cent in 2023, at 66 per cent in 2024, and at 100 per cent in 2025," said the statement.
The city says there will be no increase until 2029 to provide additional financial relief.
Joe Cote, chief growth officer for Merchant Growth, a digital financing company for small businesses, works closely with business owners navigating stresses.
He says CaféTO was a great low-cost measure to help small businesses during the pandemic, but the new fee increase is "quite extensive."
"It's not that there's been a marginal fee increase. The fee is more than doubled, which is just a bit absurd to a lot of small business owners to understand why," said Cote.
"It's less about the fee. It's more about the burden of another increased cost," he said.
Cote said the city should be taking another look at the fee increase and reassess whether or not it will actually support small businesses.