The view from the Bonfire Restaurant at The Cove Resort in West Kelowna.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK / Bonfire Restaurant
December 04, 2019 - 2:42 PM
Employees of the Bonfire Restaurant at The Cove Lakeside Resort in West Kelowna were delivered a blow today, though it may not be as bad as originally thought.
In a letter from Dave Keeler, president of the numbered company that operated the restaurant, employees were terminated.
They were also told that as of yesterday, Dec. 3, notice was provided to the landlord and management of The Cove Lakeside Resort, informing them that the operator would cease operations.
“This decision was extremely difficult however after incurring operating losses of over $500,000 over the past two years the company is no longer in a position where it can continue to operate the business,” Keeler wrote in a letter.
Keeler explained that the restaurant has been run by his company for two years, but the Cove ran it previously and he expects it will continue to do so again. Calls to The Cove have not been returned.
"It’s not been a profitable business over the last couple of years... and it’s my understanding that the business is going to continue to operate, just not with our company as the operator," Keeler said. "From the perspective of the resort, it’s holiday season and there’s a lot going on."
There's not expected to be a lag time between one company moving on and the other moving in.
The staff will likely be taken on by the hotel, he said.
Some of them haven't been paid in weeks, iNFOnews.ca has learned.
Keeler went on to say they are working to meet all obligations to employees, records of employment will be submitted directly to Service Canada and they are working to clear any pay obligations as well.
While some staff are hopeful they can continue to work out an agreement with The Cove to maintain the restaurant, those details haven't been sorted out yet.
— This story was corrected at 4:14 p.m. A previous version stated the wrong name of the company that operated the restaurant.
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