by Cassidy Garbe – Nov. 2, 2018
The Toronto food scene is thriving with chains but local restaurants aren’t worried, according to the managers of privately run businesses.
The city continues to fill with food chains, according toCity News and Statista, there are already more than 200 Tim Hortons in Toronto, followed closely behind with 160 Starbucks in 2014.
These chains are no threat to local businesses, said Ellen Gogdschjik, manager of The Senator.
People prefer quality over quantity, said Leigh Truant, an employee at TLP Sandwich Co., a sandwich may take longer but that’s because everything is fresh – it got here in the morning.
“At McDonald’s you probably aren’t even eating meat,” Truant said.
A hamburger from McDonald’s only takes 38 seconds to cook and costs C$1.69, according to the McDonald’s website.
However, that doesn’t stop people in need for a quick bite on the cheap, in fact it encourages them.
Kevin Luke, a third-year creative industries student, prefers chains for their speed, familiarity and price.
When your prioritize how fast a meal can be prepared, how well you know the menu and how cheap you can get it, a few crucial aspects of a good meal could be missed.
Gogdschjik said he knows that people understand the difference between a chain and a local business especially in terms of quality.
“Everything that we do here is fresh, we don’t use any frozen items and everything comes in every day within an hour from here,” he said. “That’s what diversifies us from other places.”
While McDonald’s, Starbucks or Tim Hortons have a loyal following that doesn’t mean the smaller businesses can’t have the same luxury.
(RSJ/Minh Truong)
Third-year global management student Anthony Orsino revisits the same greek restaurant, Plaka, at least two to three times a week with his dad.
“We can call ahead and 95 per cent of the time our order will be ready for us,” he said. “It’s not just typical food either, there’s variety.”
The Senator also experiences this same loyalty.
The location is prime and social media helps but people know who they are now, said Gogdschjik.
The main problem that smaller businesses face is time – both speed and open hours.
Orsino said he never eats on schedule, sometimes he needs some late night eats and the only thing open is Pizza Pizza, luckily it’s only C$4 a slice.
While TLP Sandwiches isn’t open all night, they aren’t concerned that Pizza Pizza or any other chain will steal their customers.
“I don’t think the chains are our competition,” said Truant. “We offer something completely different.”
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