‘Shocking, sad, draining, straining: I don’t have a good adjective for this,’ Charles Khabouth says after lockdown halts business virtually overnight
Within the first 48 hours of Canada slipping into a pandemic-induced lockdown, Charles Khabouth had to close more than 20 bars, clubs and restaurants he owns in Toronto and Montreal, lay off 2,600 employees, pull the plug on multiple construction projects and cancel some of the most popular summer festivals in both cities.
In an attempt to gain some respite from the dark cloud hanging over his entertainment empire, Khabouth has kept one of his properties open: French Made, a high-end coffee shop of sorts attached to Bisha that has now morphed into a takeout-only restaurant, the business model hundreds of other restaurants are clinging to in the hope that they’ll somehow miraculously survive the coronavirus lockdown.
He has also been innovative over the years in turning them into versatile spaces — Rebel can be a club, wedding venue, concert venue and corporate gathering spot, all in one week, he said — but they are first and foremost traditional clubs, home for those who get a thrill out of dance, loud music and closeness.
“If a business like mine and a business like Charles’ can’t survive, I don’t know who can,” he said. “The data says that 70 per cent of restaurant owners say their business is not going to be able to make it through this. I say it’s going to be more like 90 per cent.” One summer idea percolating is turning Cabana Pool Bar, a Vegas-esque day club at Toronto’s Polson Pier, into a large, fancy restaurant. With 65,000 square feet of outdoor space, Cabana could be reconfigured to seat 450 people, each table six to eight feet apart. As a regular day club, it can house up to 3,000 people.
In normal times, the festivals and concerts organized by Ink Entertainment would more than offset the cost of running a vanity project such as Cabana. Khabouth said his company rakes in tens of millions of dollars each year from sponsorship money and festivals , creating thousands of both permanent and temporary jobs in the process.
He admits there were “one or two sick babies” in his collection of restaurants even prior to the pandemic, and that he has “left no stone unturned” in terms of figuring out which spots to keep open or which ones he’ll have to hand in the keys on. Ink Entertainment does not qualify for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program announced by the federal government in April because it generates more than $20 million in annual revenue. It is a point of annoyance for Khabouth, who otherwise approves most of the other government support programs, especially the wage subsidy.
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