BeaverTails co-founder Grant Hooker says business is booming as a frosty Canadian winter has skaters stopping in to enjoy the iconic pastries on the Rideau Canal Skateway.
“We’re busy on the canal, thanks to Mother Nature,” he told OBJ Friday.
Although cold weather might be contributing to dampened sales at the BeaverTails kiosk on George Street in the ByWard Market, it is the very reason why Hooker’s four on-ice locations on the Rideau Canal are seeing renewed enthusiasm from skaters after years of “pent-up demand.”
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Building The City We Aspire To Be
Ottawa is facing many challenges: we need more housing that achieves better sustainable density to create homes for families and support small businesses for a diverse economy. We need to
Mann Lawyers grows litigation practice with pair of savvy veteran additions
Full-service law firm Mann Lawyers has built a longstanding reputation for delivering high-quality legal services to its clients in all its service areas, including its litigation practice, over its 30-plus-year
“It feels fabulous to be operating again and I had forgotten, in the two years that we didn’t have operations, really how beautiful an experience it is to be on that canal. (There are) so many Canadians, families, new Canadians, people learning to skate, people walking, seniors, all age groups,” he said.
“We are so grateful for this year and maybe it’ll be the new normal for winters. I’d like that. We’d all like that in BeaverTail-land,” Hooker said.
Things haven’t been quite as rosy in recent years. Business for BeaverTails took a hit as the pandemic caused decreased traffic or complete closures on and around the canal, followed by the “Freedom Convoy” of 2022 and unusually mild winters in 2023 and 2024.
Hooker said the last few years have been “brutal,” especially since operations rely heavily on the success of the canal.
“Last year, Mother Nature allowed us to open at only one of the four locations for only about nine days. The year before that, there was not one day of operations. It cost us anywhere from $70,000 to $90,000 just to prepare to serve a lot of BeaverTails and to remove our equipment. We recruit staff of probably 200 young people and, for the last two years, that has resulted in pretty big losses,” Hooker told OBJ.
Hooker said the NCC advised his team not to open during the pandemic for health and safety reasons, “after incurring the expenses of setting up and tearing down.”
“We’ve been battered, but Mother Nature is giving us a real lovely cold kiss this year. This year won’t make up for those losses completely, but we survived,” he said.
After years of being unable to make profit on the canal, Hooker said the business had to pivot operations to recoup costs.
“We’ve got the operation in the Market and at Tanger Outlets, 365 days a year. We’ve got mobile operations with catering and festivals. Years ago, we realized how dependent we were on Mother Nature for the canal to succeed and we diversified into these other lines of BeaverTail business,” he said.
Hooker said BeaverTails will likely not be affected by any sort of trade war with the U.S.
“I don’t believe there will be any real impact, because we basically use all Canadian products,” he said.
However, there may yet be a “Canada” BeaverTail as Hooker looks for ways to show his displeasure with any potential U.S. tariffs on Canadian exports.
“You’ve got me thinking as to how we could leverage or send a message of support for the initiatives against those tariffs. But as of now, it’s just been business as usual,” Hooker said.
Hooker added that BeaverTails embodies the epitome of Canadian culture, from the plaid worn by employees to the maple flavours found in its products and Canadiana decor at its nearly 200 domestic locations.
“We’re proudly Canadian. Whatever it will take to stand up to the injustice of the new administration down south, we’ll be joining with other Canadians to remain strong,” he said.
