Food companies in southern Quebec expect to lose thousands of dollars due to the ice storm, forcing them to close their doors or even throw away their groceries due to the power outage.
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“It’s hell. At first we thought it was funny standing in a kitchen in the dark and kept our heads up. But when I saw that the power didn’t come back, I didn’t sleep all night to find solutions,” Danna Mazzola tells the Journal, disoriented by the events.
Photo courtesy of Danna Mazzola
Danna Mazzola in the kitchen of her shop, which was closed due to the storm.
The 27-year-old, who runs caterer Mazzola in Gatineau, says the family business has never run out of power in nearly 30 years.
“It’s about 2,500 meals that couldn’t be delivered today, particularly because schools have had to close. Overall, we believe we lost $200,000 to the glitch preventing our refrigerators and freezers from working. We will certainly throw away a lot of food if the power doesn’t come back this weekend,” sighs Ms. Mazzola.
Anything to save ice
Robert Walkers, owner of Crème Glacée Walkers on Montreal’s south coast, barely slept Wednesday night to save his products.
Photo provided by Robert Walkers
Robert Walkers and Kimberly Lajoie in front of their ice cream shop on Montreal’s South Shore.
“We’re in a crisis here,” launches the retailer on the phone. I worked all night transporting gas for our generators in Mercier and Chateauguay. We try to keep our products frozen. It’s a very special situation.”
Mr Walkers adds that he has been relying on the Easter weekend to maximize his income but the storm has melted his plans like snow in the sun.
Photo provided by Robert Walkers
Counter at Walkers Ice Cream in Mercier, where owners stayed up all night to salvage their frozen goods.
“With everything that is happening we are forced to close and we don’t know when we will reopen. We had to give up 50% of our inventory in Châteauguay to sell it before we lost everything,” explains the businessman.
forced close
The Journal also noted that dozens of restaurants and shops had to close due to Thursday’s power outage. At the time of writing, nearly 1.2 million Quebec homes are still without power.
“Unfortunately, we will lose thousands of dollars. Our products must be stored and prepared in the cold, we cannot work properly and we cannot open today, ”for example, warns Jérôme Pelletier of the Le Boucanier store in Montreal.
Here are some restaurateurs who closed their doors on Thursday as they are without power:
Keep in mind that according to the Quebec Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), “if there is a power outage lasting more than 6 hours, cleaning of food stored in the refrigerator is required”.
However, according to the ministry, a full freezer can easily store food for 48 hours.
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