This has been an extremely difficult few weeks here at The Red Bay Lodge.
People thought we were crazy. Starting a restaurant, in a pandemic. In the woods.
As it turns out, we are crazy.
Here’s the reality: We’re on the brink of going out of business.
Despite that, building this dream team was worth it. These are a few of the people who make every experience here meaningful. That make the Red Bay Lodge what it is.
We plan to open up the books on our current business struggles in an effort to crowdsource immediate solutions.
We have less than 100 days remaining as a business before we run out of borrowed funds and are forced to sell this dream. Our runway has shrunk drastically.
That’s a heavy burden for us. To be depended on not only as a pillar of a community, but as leaders of a team. To think failure isn’t an option and yet be forced to realize it is.
We are crazy, starting a restaurant in a pandemic. We’re crazy for paying folks a living wage or being open on a night like tonight, where we didn’t have a single customer or make a single sale. (Update! We got a take out order as I type this! THANK YOU!)
The more difficult thing for us to comprehend is that it is an industry we have zero control of is forcing us out of business.
That the fat cats on Bay St. can decide that our dreams are dead. That a government who claims to stand behind the little guy turns the other way while an industry digs our grave.
It’s not COVID19 that’s going to end this, at least not directly. It’s greed. It’s algorithms and theoretic risk profiles and lack of regulations.
Over the next few weeks we will be opening up our actual revenue, costs, and struggles via posts & Facebook Lives - if you are interested in business, real life, real costs & real decisions - this will be for you.
We’re going to give this one last attempt to survive past the 100 day mark and want your ideas on how. If we do nothing, we’re dead anyway. We may as well crush some buttertarts and beers first. Maybe you’ll come along.
They want to end our dream. We’ve got 100 days to figure out an alternative.
Your voice very well may save us, and hopefully another restaurant, bar, or lodge too. When you hear our issue in detail you will be furious.
Here’s our next steps:
1. We are preparing an open letter to Doug Ford, Bill Walker & other MPPs regarding this industry that is trying their best to end us. We NEED your voice to help join our screams!
2. We’re going full blast with our restaurant (OPEN Thurs-Sunday!) until the last cheque bounces (PS It’ll be an insurance payment, not a paycheque)
3. We’re going to host as many small COVID19 Conscious events as we can, starting with The Red Bay Christmas Market next weekend. We hope to see you there and we’ll even bribe you with free baked goods.
4. We have to figure out if we can sell enough room nights in the near future to justify operating the hotel this winter. With immense online pressure against tourism this may pose not viable. We may opt to open only for single groups to reduce the operational difficulties.
You’ll get more clarity this upcoming week when we post our campaign addressing The NEXT Threat, and you’ll see why every restaurant, bar, or lodge you know and love is on the brink of extinction.
Thank you for all your support so far.
With snowy love from The Red Bay Lodge Team
Their letter to Doug Ford and Bill Walker about the 265% insurance hike
