Restaurant operators in British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 southern Interior are scrambling after flooding and landslides closed highways and rail lines, cutting businesses off from the supply chains they rely on.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the latest hurdle after 20 months of struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic and a summer of smoky skies from wildfires that wiped out tourism.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 actually have more to give in this scenario,B次元官网网址� said Brandon Loughery, managing partner of Woodsman Group, which operates two pubs around Kelowna and a seasonal restaurant at the SilverStar Mountain ski resort in Vernon.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e already operating on razor thin margins,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview.

TheyB次元官网网址檝e been getting ready to open the restaurant for the winter season, but in the aftermath of the flooding, they canB次元官网网址檛 order what they need in bulk, Loughery said.

The two pubs in Kelowna rely on deliveries every three days, and with none in sight, Loughery said he expects they wonB次元官网网址檛 have enough food supplies by Monday.

TheyB次元官网网址檝e been shopping at grocery stores, trying to keep the doors open. But thatB次元官网网址檚 costly for a restaurant, and while the shelves were a bit fuller by Thursday, there was little meat, milk, eggs or other produce to be found earlier in the week, he said.

Every major route connecting B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Interior with the Lower Mainland was severed by floods, mudslides or washouts after the southern part of the province was hammered by record rainfall.

If such debilitating supply challenges were to last for a month or more, Loughery speculated that some restaurants in the Interior would have to close their doors.

B次元官网网址淚f you donB次元官网网址檛 hit your base number to cover your fixed costs, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 take long for things to go backwards.B次元官网网址�

Goods should start flowing again as some highways are reopened and alternative routes established, but it will be a stressful couple of weeks for the industry, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association.

B次元官网网址淚t could take 10 to 20 days to sort out the logistics of new routes,B次元官网网址� Tostenson said, noting trucks usually travel to the Interior every day along the Coquihalla Highway, which is completely washed out and requires extensive repairs.

In the meantime, he said, restaurants in the Okanagan Valley area closing.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 not a lot of storage of products in the Interior, because mainly they just rely on overnight shipment from the Lower Mainland, so itB次元官网网址檚 a real challenge,B次元官网网址� he said.

Supply was still flowing from Alberta to northern B.C., Tostenson noted.

Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth told a news conference this week that B次元官网网址渙ur transportation infrastructure is crippled,B次元官网网址� though he also said there are many parts of the province where routes are not compromised. The Retail Council of Canada and the trucking industry have been clear that B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檚 lots of supply,B次元官网网址� he said.

Mark von Schellwitz, western vice president for Restaurants Canada, said the disastrous flooding is yet another blow for an industry thatB次元官网网址檚 been contending with the impacts of the pandemic, wildfires and B次元官网网址渞ampantB次元官网网址� inflation in food prices.

B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 tell you the number of operators IB次元官网网址檝e talked to that are exasperated, just saying what else can possibly be thrown at us, it seems like everythingB次元官网网址檚 conspiring against them trying to survive as a business,B次元官网网址� von Schellwitz said in an interview.

Loughery, too, said heB次元官网网址檚 seen some food costs more than double in the last year and heB次元官网网址檚 concerned the flooding in prime agricultural land will drive them up further.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 always a reason. ItB次元官网网址檚 because of the fires, itB次元官网网址檚 because of the pandemic, now it will be because of the flooding. I havenB次元官网网址檛 seen food prices this high, ever,B次元官网网址� Loughery said, adding heB次元官网网址檚 had to switch products heB次元官网网址檚 used for years B次元官网网址渂ecause theyB次元官网网址檙e just not in the realm of possibility of what a customer will pay for.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� By Brenna Owen. THE CANADIAN PRESS