What went down at the TL Insider Fireside Chat with Andrew Oliver, president and CEO of Oliver & Bonacini
One of the largest shared pieces of our city’s culture is unarguably the food scene—and the pandemic has directly impacted the way we experience it. On May 22, TL Insiders attended an informative Virtual Fireside Chat with the president and CEO of Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality, Andrew Oliver. During the live-streamed event, Oliver discussed the current state of Canada’s restaurant sector, the ways it has been directly impacted by the pandemic and what the future holds.
As president of the fine dining and event company since 2012, Oliver shared some insight into the growth and success of O&B, and how the momentum of that growth has been abruptly halted. There are a variety of factors to keeping the restaurant sector afloat, and even some of the best-case scenarios still see large cultural changes for our country. “No one is a competitor anymore. We’re all peers, and we are in this together,” Oliver said.
With some of the most popular restaurant operations in Canada including Canoe in Toronto and Alchemy in Edmonton, Oliver has seen first-hand the ways this pandemic has directly affected Canada’s restaurant industry. In comparison to other G7 countries, there have been shortcomings to the Canadian government’s response for businesses affected by Covid-19, making Oliver’s efforts to hold our government accountable and instigate an increase of support that much more impactful. The conversation was followed with a Q&A period, where attendees learned more about how to support local businesses and what to expect as we continue to navigate life in Toronto amidst a pandemic.
Watch the recorded event here to access the Insider exclusive, learn what’s next for O&B and what the future of Canada’s food sector could look like.
Experience Virtual TL Insider today for the very special rate of only $75 a year. Sign up here using promo code TLVIRTUAL.
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