On April 16, tapas restaurant Chorizo & Co. announced it would be forever closing its doors on May 18.
In a conversation with Black Press, co-owner Stephen Quigley cited a struggle to repay federal CEBA loans as one of the reasons for closing.
“The biggest problem was the inflation and interest rate hike last year,” he said, describing last year as “atrocious”. “And then with the repayment of the CEBA loans on top of that, we borrowed more money to pay off the CEBA loan and it put us in a really difficult situation where we could struggle on and keep going, see what the rest of 2024 brings about, or we could look at possibly selling.”
“We chose to go the former route because we didn’t want to get stuck with another loan.”
Quigley explains they had just eight months prior paid off the business loan they got to open the restaurant.
The federal government’s Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Program provided eligible small businesses and not-for-profits up to $60,000 in emergency funding in the form of loans that were initially interest-free and partially forgivable, to help cover a variety of expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible CEBA loan holders were able to qualify for partial loan forgiveness if they repaid the non-forgivable principal of their CEBA loan on or before Jan. 18, 2024. The forgivable amount was up to $20,000.
Chorizo & Co. was not the only restaurant to struggle to repay their loan by the date. A survey Restaurants Canada commissioned revealed one in five restaurants with a CEBA loan were on the brink of closing one or more of their locations. Restaurants Canada called on the federal government for a last-minute extension, which was declined with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noting the government had twice extended the deadline.
READ MORE: Deadline to get partial CEBA forgiveness arrives as business groups warn of closures
Quigley and business partner Dave Brooks opened Chorizo & Co. five and a half years ago with the shared vision of running a Spanish tapas restaurant. The two met working at Stage in Fernwood, and when the Chorizo & Co. deli closed, they saw an opportunity and kept the name.
Together, they created a restaurant which quickly rose in ranks in Victoria, known for its delicious food, wine and ambience.
“This is such heartbreaking news. My fav restaurant in Vic,” said BesteatsVictoria, a renowned Instagram foodie account with over 11K followers, on Chorizo & Co.’s closing announcement on the app.
Quigley said one of his favourite things about Chorizo & Co. is the fun atmosphere.
“It’s a very casual environment. The service is impeccable, but the music’s loud. It’s fun. It’s vibrant. We have fun and hopefully everyone else picks up on that.”
He described the fact that they found a buyer so quickly “bittersweet”. Their realtor had thought it would take a long time to sell, but it only took three weeks for a firm offer.
A new restaurant transferring from Langford will be coming in, but Quigley doesn’t want to ruin their surprise by giving names.
After the closure, Quigley said he plans to take time off and spend it with his daughters Lola, 13, and Poppy, 9.
Before then, he looks forward to seeing familiar faces in the restaurant, citing the people he met as his best memories of the restaurant.
“We just wanted to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy what we do one last time, maybe two last times before we’re gone, instead of just shutting the door and walking away.”
READ MORE: Small businesses still pleading for federal pandemic loan extension