UPDATE: Restaurateurs, community groups come together to help restaurants in protest Red Zone recoup losses

A group of Ottawa restaurant owners and community organizations have come together to help the city's restaurant community recoup any expenses lost as a result of the ongoing truck protest.

A GoFundMe page was set up over the weekend with a goal of raising $250,000 that the page says will be distributed through grants to restaurant owners in need, especially those located in the Red Zone of the protest.

And as of 10 a.m. on Monday, February 7, the page has raised over $28,000 through 320 donations.

This fundraiser, the page says, doesn't come only as a result of COVID-19 restrictions that have impacted their businesses over the past two year, but mainly due to the protests which have locked down the city's core.

“Residents are afraid to leave their homes, delivery services face extreme difficulty picking up orders and clients who are willing to make the trek into the Red Zone find that the protest outside is quite literally 'horning-in' on the intimacy of sharing a meal at a restaurant with a loved one,” the page details.

“Restaurants have shown up for our community year after year, and it's time to return the favour. It's time for action. Takeaway and meal kits can only go so far. Our restaurants need our support to weather this storm, and they need it now.”

The group organizing the fundraisers includes chef Joe Thottungal, owner of Coconut Lagoo and Thali restaurants, Devinder Chaudhary, owner of Aiana restaurant, Sheila White, owner of Thyme & Again Catering, chef Ric Watson of the Ottawa Mission and Robin Duetta, community development and fundraising specialist.

More collaborators are said to be announced shortly.

Speaking with CityNews Ottawa, Chaudhary said his restaurant hasn’t been able to open, and as a result has lost about $100,000 in revenue since the convoy arrived.

“We’d love to reopen and come out with a new menu, we have trained out staff — but the reality is we cannot reopen up. We cannot expect our guests to park six or seven streets streets away and then walk through those street closures and demonstrations.”

And it was important for Chaudhary to think of his staff's safety in the midst of the protest, and he could not ensure that safety.

Chaudhary's restaurant also had a Valentine's Day event scheduled that was almost fully booked, but he doesn't think the restaurant can go through with it with the way things are going right now. 

That event alone, he said, would have generated upwards of $20,000 in revenue. 

“We are strapped for every dollar at this point.'

At this point, he's unsure if that event will go on as planned.

As the organizers explain, the restauranteurs will be required to share a minimum of 50 per cent of the grant amount with all the employees of the restaurant.

A committee of up to nine people from various restaurants and groups will be the ones deciding who gets grants, and how much. That calculation, he says, is still being worked out.

But what he can say is that in the Red Zone alone, between 50 to 75 that have either not opened or have had their revenues cut by 50 to 75 per cent.

“If the fund becomes as substantial as we're hoping, we're envisioning distributing grants based on demonstrated need and geographic proximity to the Red Zone,” it explains. “Our goal is to get as much money into restauranteur hands as quickly as possible.”

If the fundraiser exceeds the goal “significantly,” organizers say they will adapt the process to best service restaurants in needs.

Any funds remaining will be donated to a food charity chosen by the committee.

“It's not going to erase the strain of the last two years, but at least it will help some keep their lights on and give them a chance to move forward,” the page says. “Thousands of people are impacted and we need to help.”