Sunny, warm summer weather a boon for Cape Breton business

Good weather has brought an uptick to a Cape Breton business this summer.

At Governor’s Pub and Eatery, a restaurant along the Sydney, N.S., waterfront, the lunch crowd lined up for tables on the patio on Tuesday.

"We're up like 10-15 per cent just due to the fact that we've seen sunny days almost every day this summer,” said owner and head chef Ardon Mofford.

Mofford noted sales at his business have been up despite record inflation and the high cost of living.

"That's what they say, but I think people still like to go out and have a bite to eat,” Mofford said.

Jordi Morgan, Atlantic vice-president for Restaurants Canada, said he has heard similar summer success stories elsewhere in Nova Scotia.

"It's been good news, especially after a few years of really difficult times for restaurants,” Morgan said.

Morgan noted this represents a rebound for restaurants from the dark days of the pandemic and, despite high costs, things are looking good going forward.

"We're expecting that the third and fourth quarters are going to be improvements in the economy, and into 2025 as well,” Morgan said. “So if we see strong weather and some good economic activity, then we'll start to see some of that recovery that we've been hoping for over the last couple of years."

With peak cruise ship season just around the corner and construction in the downtown set to be finished soon, Mofford said he is looking forward to a busy fall.

"It's back to the old numbers of five or six years ago, so it's good to see that we've come full-circle since the pandemic and got ourselves back to where we were,” Mofford said. “And I think the way it's trending right now, it should be one of our best years yet."

CTV Atlantic reached out to the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia to try to find out what kind of impact - if any - the summer weather has had on visitation, but they were unable to provide any information by deadline.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.