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Roughage Eatery to shutter – Winnipeg Free Press

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Despite the wrecking ball, Candace Tonelet hoped she would stay.

Tonelet and wife Jessie Hodel opened Roughage Eatery, a vegetarian restaurant on Sherbrooke Street, in late 2019. He learned that the Winnipeg building he rented last year, along with three other lots across the road, were scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new apartment building. .

It is unclear when Tonelete's demise date will arrive. He had planned to stay until then, but a series of unfortunate events—constant construction failures, rising food and labor costs, declining customers—resulted in a shortened stay.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILE Jesse Hodel (left) and Candice Tonelet, co-owners of Roughage Eatery, will host their final event May 30 to celebrate the city's annual Pride Festival.

John Woods / FREE PRESS FILES

Jesse Hodel (left) and Candice Tonelet, co-owners of Roughage Eatery, will host their final event on May 30 to celebrate the city's annual Pride Festival.

Throw in a recently broken furnace, stairs and bathrooms in need of repair … and May will be the restaurant's last month in Sherbrooke.

“It's been a tough journey,” Tonelete said Tuesday. “We can't take it anymore. It is a great misfortune.”

About six months after Roughage Eatery opened, fate played a cruel trick: The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, bringing lockdowns and social distancing.

Since then, Roughage Eatery has made a name for itself as a vegetarian hot spot, selling seitan (turned into cheese) and sometimes called wheat meat.

Consumer traffic rebounded as pandemic-era restrictions were lifted, Tonelete said, but 2024 was quieter. “Food is so expensive these days, I don't blame people for not going out,” he said.

Food and labor prices have jumped for businesses, among others in the industry. According to Tonelet, the price of salad and oil has doubled.

Additionally, Roughage Eatery has experienced several glitches and glitches in its facility.

The restaurant temporarily shut down last year when its oven went out. The air conditioner is also gone, – reports Tonelete. Amidst the fixes and temporary closures, employees were laid off.

Roughage will spend its time in Sherbrooke with the final event on May 30 to celebrate the town's annual Pride Festival. That won't be the end of it, however, Tonelete said: Roughage Eatery plans to sell cheeses and seitans in Manitoba stores and markets.

He's also in talks with local breweries to host pop-ups, he said.

“I think it's important that people continue to support local people,” Tonelet noted. “It's the little places that really hurt.”

It is poised to move back to West Broadway when the proposed high-rise block opens; Preliminary designs show the main floor of the commercial space.

“I hate when businesses close,” said Mike Williams, operator of a nearby Korner Stop. “But in the overall scheme of things, for 101 new people to come into the area, (you) can't go wrong with that.”

Victor Martens, owner of Computech Camera Repair next door to Roughage Eatery, wants to see a vegetarian venture featured in the proposed apartment's main floor business plan.