Halibut House fishing in Kitchener as franchise continues planning despite COVID-19

KITCHENER - In the storm of COVID-19, one Ontario restaurant franchise is continuing to cast its lines in the water.

Halibut House, a chain of fish and chips restaurants launched in 2001 about 80 kilometres northeast of Toronto in Port Perry, is working to open seven new Ontario locations - including in Kitchener - amid the outbreak of COVID-19.

There are currently 26 Halibut House restaurants across the province, largely confined to the Greater Toronto Area. There are two locations in Hamilton, one at 50 Dundurn St. S., and the second in Ancaster at 54 Wilson St W. Both locations offer delivery through Uber Eats, Door Dash and Skip the Dishes.

The latest expansion will see new locations pop up as far as Kingston and Ottawa.

In 19 years in business, not one store has been forced to close. It's a record the company is hoping to continue, and that goes for the locations that haven't even opened yet.

We were in a peculiar situation because we had different restaurants at different stages when this started in March," said Vince Kang, whose mother, Julie, opened the first restaurant in Port Perry.

Five of the seven new restaurants - one in Kitchener on Highland Road West - are waiting out construction delays to begin offering the trademark fish and chips meals.

Restaurants in Brantford, Lindsay, Markham and Ottawa also find themselves in this boat.

We anticipate that we're going to be able to get through this virus without losing any of our restaurants, and that's our priority right now," said Kang. A lot of people have put their life savings into their (franchise), and we want to make sure their business stays viable."

The Orangeville and Kingston sites, both set to open next week, were originally slated to open in March. But once they got wind of the potential pandemic blowback, Kang said they opted to delay both launches.

Now, he said they've reached the point of no return and must open. Rent payments are coming, and the sites need to start generating revenue to stay afloat.

For locations such as Kitchener, construction was expected to be well underway in March, with the restaurant to open the following month. Now, it's a wait-and-see approach as the province begins its reopening in phases.

With construction, there is always permitting and inspections, and because of what's gone on, it has really limited the capacity to do that," said Kang. As of right now, we haven't really been able to get underway with construction as we wait for permits to clear."

To help assist franchisees, Kang said they've removed royalties and advertising fees, while working with Restaurants Canada and their provincial and federal counterparts to try to come up with actionable plans to relieve the burden on the restaurant industry.

It's really been a trying time for the whole industry, whether you're opening or not," he said. Different restaurants are facing different challenges regardless of where they fall in the timeline."

Restaurants Canada reports more than 800,000 food-service workers have been laid off or have had their hours cut down to zero amid the outbreak of COVID-19.

And if conditions don't improve over the next few months, it announced one out of every two independent restaurants does not expect to survive.

I receive calls every day from devastated restaurant owners who are looking for assurances that they'll be able to get through the unforeseeable challenges they're now facing," said Restaurant Canada president and chief executive officer Shanna Munro in an open letter earlier this month.

Installation of Plexiglas, strict disinfection rules and other safety protocols are starting to become part of the new normal. But at the end of the day, Kang said customers are still looking for quality in their food.

With a menu that offers Alaskan halibut, Pacific king cod and Atlantic haddock, the Halibut House has excelled over the last two decades in offering affordable, wild-caught seafood across the GTA.

My mother's favourite saying was that we do two things: fish and chips. So, you got to make sure you do those two things right."

Robert Williams is a Waterloo Region based reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: robertwilliams@torstar.ca