Canal vendors looking to recoup sunk costs as skateway stays closed - Action News
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Ottawa

Canal vendors looking to recoup sunk costs as skateway stays closed

Some food and beverage vendors who laid out thousands of dollars preparing for what they hoped would be a busy winter on the Rideau Canal Skateway are cooling their heels while their investments melt away.

Some spent thousands of dollars in anticipation of a busy winter

Skateway closure might put this poutinerie owner's Rideau Canal dream on ice

2 years ago
Duration 0:52
ZUPS ByWard owner John Hennessy said having a business on the canal has been a dream of his since he came to Ottawa in 1980. He was invited by the NCC this year, but warm weather is complicating his plans.

UPDATE:On Friday afternoon, the NCC announced that the Rideau Canal Skateway will not open this season for the first time in its history.


When John Hennessy got a call from the National Capital Commission (NCC) inviting him to become a vendor on the Rideau Canal Skatewaythis season, he was elated.

Hennessy opened ZUPS ByWard, a downtown Ottawa restaurant specializing in poutine, just six months ago. He wasn't planning on expanding so soon, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.

"They thought we would be a perfect partner for the canal," said Hennessy, who also hasa location to the north in Wakefield.

He immediately got down to work, spending"north of $10,000" to purchase, brand and upgradea new food-safe trailer to meetweight, fire safetyand fuel requirements.

"It was mostly time, but there were some expenses out of pocket while we secured everything that we needed to have a compliant and safe trailer on the ice," he said.

A towable trailer in a snowy parking lot.
Hennessy said he laid out thousands of dollars to bring the trailer up to code. (John Hennessy)

Instead, as the canal remains closed due to unsuitable weather and poor ice, Hennessy is now one of several food and beverage vendors left cooling their heels and watching their investments melt away.

At this late stagein the season, it's looking increasinglypossiblethat the skatewaywon't open at all.

"The prospect of us doing well was pretty good," Hennessy said. "It's just a weather-related issue that we unfortunately had to deal with."

'For a small company, it's a lot'

Dunrobin Distilleries made its skateway debut last winter,the first time spirits were sold on the canal.

This year, the company was hoping to build on that. President and co-founder Mark Watson said his business also spent around $10,000 to secure a shack and bring it up to code, make signs, line up seasonal staff and purchase supplies.

"We went through all that and unfortunately Mother Nature prevented us from being able to sell our spirits on the canal," Watson said.

Dunrobin Distilleries employees in front of wooden shack at Lansdowne Christmas Market.
Dunrobin Distilleries had already secured a shack similar to this one at Lansdowne Park's Christmas market. (Mark Watson)

Certain items,such as the ingredients for the bespoke Northern Spike cocktail, were purchased specifically for the skating season and can't really be used. Those are now considered sunk costs, Watson said.

"For a small company, it's a lot," he said. "We'd have to sell a lot of drinks to recoup that."

Looking for other opportunities

Hennessy said he'swaiting to hear if ZUPSwill be invited to set up atBluesfestthis summer. He also has his sights set on Ottawa PoutineFest, the Canadian Tulip Festival and the Ottawa Jazz Festival.

"While it is really disappointing we didn't get on the ice, we now have a mobile offering that we didn't have before," he noted. "It just came early and it wasn't offset by revenue."

Someone walks beside a closed gate to a frozen waterway.
A person walks along the closed Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa Feb. 16, 2023. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

While disappointed, both Hennessy and Watson said they're pleased with how the NCC has been handling the setback.

"The NCC tried their very best," Watson said.

"I really believe that they kept us informed at every step of the processand at the end of the day, safety came first."