For the past several years, restaurant operators across Canada have been told the same thing: there aren’t enough young people to fill restaurant openings.
And while it’s true that more Canadians are retiring than are joining the workforce, that statistic doesn’t explain everything because some restaurants are still very successfully recruiting and retaining talent.
Yes - several factors are working against restaurateurs: fewer young people, fewer students attending post-secondary education in person, families moving away from urban centres, and the reality that location and transportation matter more than ever when costs are rising. None of these pressures are easily controlled but other factors are.
Through a three-year workplace culture project with the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, working with more than 300 restaurant operators, a clear pattern emerged:
Restaurants that can clearly express and consistently deliver their story have a structural advantage in recruiting and retaining staff.
The Restaurants That Don’t Struggle
The operators who aren’t struggling to hire aren’t necessarily paying the most or offering the most perks. They are doing something more fundamental.
They have a story that is so clear, and so consistently executed, that it attracts people who want to be part of it. One of the clearest examples came from three vegetarian restaurants. While many operators were describing ongoing hiring challenges, not one of these businesses reported difficulty recruiting. One owner responded to the question almost with confusion:
“We have a lineup of vegetarians and vegans who want to work here because our values align.”
There was no formal recruitment strategy. No carefully crafted messaging.
Their menu, their philosophy, and their daily operations were already telling the story—and attracting the right people.
$992 Billion in Art Could Change Hands. Why Are These 71,105 Investors Paying Close Attention?
Deloitte ran the numbers. They project UHNW art and collectibles wealth -- already at $2.5 trillion -- to hit $3.47 trillion by 2030.
The institutional world has been quietly preparing for this. Back in 2011, 25% of wealth managers surveyed offered art-related services. In 2024, 51%. Family offices now average a 13.4% allocation to art and collectibles.
And it’s not just because they love art. It’s because they like the math.
These positions were built over decades through private dealer relationships most investors never had. The access just wasn't there.
Masterworks is changing that by allowing individuals to invest in shares of blue-chip artwork by artists like Basquiat, Warhol, and Picasso. Their track record to-date:
71,000+ investors
$1.3B deployed across 525+ artworks
29 closed sales
Net annualized returns like 16.5%, 17.6%, and 17.8%, not including those unsold.
Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.
Your Story Is Already Recruiting—Whether You Realize It or Not
Every restaurant has a story. The question is whether that story is:
Clear
Consistent
Actually reflected in the dining experience
Because when it is, it works as a form of continuous recruitment for both customers and staff. And when it isn’t, it works against you.
Consider this: a local restaurant near me promotes itself as a “neighbourhood burger joint.” Recently, staff were seen outside the restaurant tossing their cigarette butts on the ground. When a neighbour asked them to pick them up, the manager actually laughed.
Technically, this is just one bad interaction but it directly contradicts the restaurant’s core story. Because the response was so un-neighbourly, the experience was quickly shared on social channels and will influence not just customers but prospective staff too.
Why This Matters More Now
Workers today have more clarity on what they won’t tolerate. They are quicker to leave environments that feel disorganized or inconsistent.
Because of this, how you tell your unique story becomes more than branding, it’s operational. Matching your story with the actual restaurant experience matters for everyone who walks through the door: it keeps staff working with you and customers coming back for more meals out.
When your story works, and also when it doesn’t, it impacts your bottom line. Staff turnover costs money, returning customers cost less than acquiring new ones. Because of this, when done right, your story positively impacts your overall profitability by creating a profitability loop. Long term staff reduces hiring pressure. Staff stability improves the dining experience. Stronger dining experience builds repeat business.
A Simple Place to Start
If there’s one check to see if you are doing this right, it’s asking this one question:
“Are we actively telling the story that makes our restaurant stand out for customers and staff alike?
From there, you can also ask:
Are we producing a dining experience that matches our story?
Is it visible across our space, our menu, and our online presence?
If someone worked a shift here, would they describe us the same way we describe ourselves?
Where are the gaps—and what are we doing to close them?
Your Story is the Advantage You Control
You can’t control demographics.
You can’t control where people live.
You can’t control broader labour trends.
But you can control how clearly your restaurant stands up to your story and how consistently that the experience lives up to the expectation every day. In a difficult labour market, and with increasing cost pressures, that’s not a small thing.
It is one of the few advantages that restaurants of every size can control.
And when you get it right, you can trigger a positive staff experience, a great dining experience and a profitability loop that builds.
What happens when the S&P moves 3% during your commute?
We are living in volatile times. While you cannot control the state of international affairs, you can position your portfolio accordingly.
Liquid is one of the fastest growing trading platforms, allowing users to trade stocks, commodities, FX, and more 24/7/365 from their phone and computer.