More restaurants in Kingston may go out of business this year

The Downtown BIA is worried some local eateries will be replaced by corporate chains.

Thousands of restaurants across Canada are expected to permanently close this year including ones in Kingston.

A report from Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab suggests around 4,000 restaurants will go out of business this year.

Downtown Kingston saw eight restaurants close their doors for good in 2025 while 14 opened for business. 

So far this year, the owners of the Silver Wok closed down their restaurant after announcing their retirement. The owners of FryWay are closing their walk-in restaurant on Concession St to focus solely on the food truck side of their business.

Executive Director of Downtown Kingston BIA Marijo Cuerrier says the number of restaurants slated to close is a troubling trend that doesn't appear to have a light at the end of the tunnel.

The rising minimum wage and cost of food are some of the obstacles that restaurants are currently facing. Some are struggling to a point where they can't repay the loans that they received during the pandemic.

Cuerrier says many restaurants, and businesses in general, haven't been able to recover since they were first ordered to shut down in 2020.

Cuerrier says what worries her isn't that a store will go out of business, it's about who or what might replace it.

Restaurants have benefitted from third-party delivery services like Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes where customers can order food and have it delivered to their home.

But take-out and delivery makes up only a small portion (some say around five percent) of the restaurant's business. Cuerrier adds that delivery apps take a huge chunk from the sales eating into the restaurant's profit margin.

She says customers in Kingston don't realize that they have the ability to keep local businesses thriving.

Story by Ken Hashizume