Navigating Tariff Uncertainty for Canadian Restaurants with Jay Ashton | 057
Uncertainty seems to be the only certainty in today's restaurant industry. In this episode of The Pre-Shift Podcast, we sit down with Jay Ashton, Canada's Restaurant Guy, to discuss how Canadian restaurants can adapt to tariffs and economic challenges. Jay shares practical strategies from his 35-year career. These go beyond simply raising prices to tactics like creating salads without lettuce and developing multiple revenue streams through newsletters and digital merchandising. Whether you're concerned about the current tariff situation or looking for always-relevant business advice for navigating uncertain times, Jay's approaches and timeless wisdom offer valuable insights for restaurants looking to thrive during economic shifts. Resources Connect with Jay on LinkedIn 🔗 Site: Canada's Restaurant Guy 🍁 Listen to The Late Night Restaurant Show 🌃 Strategies to offset tariffs newsletter 📰 Latest Updates on Canadian Tariffs | restaurantscanada.org 🇨🇦 Chapters 0:00 - Introduction to Jay Ashton, Canada's restaurant guy 2:00 - Understanding the tariff situation for Canadian restaurants 4:00 - The impact of tariffs on restaurant inventory and pricing 7:30 - Menu innovation: "You can make salads without lettuce" 8:15 - The flex burger: Reducing costs through creative protein options 9:00 - Using the "why column" to evaluate every menu ingredient 12:00 - Preparing your business without panicking 14:00 - Cash flow is king: Smart inventory management 16:30 - Technology solutions for tracking costs and inventory 19:00 - Communicating price changes to your customers 22:00 - Why restaurants need five revenue streams 25:00 - Newsletter marketing as an additional revenue source 31:00 - Using Uber Eats as an e-commerce platform 33:30 - Developing CPG product lines and merchandise 35:45 - Final advice: Don't panic, have a plan Send us Fan Mail 📲 Connect with us Email us Follow on LinkedIn More 7shifts Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Subscribe to Food Runner, our Monthly Restaurant Newsletter 7shifts on YouTube Follow us on TikTok Read the 7shifts Blog About Us 7shifts is the restaurant HR platform helping operators hire, train, schedule, pay, and retain their team in one place. With an easy-to-use platform and built-for-restaurant workflows, 7shifts replaces disconnected systems for 55,000 restaurants.