Results: Casualties Of The Pandemic

When you think of casualties of the pandemic, the obvious ones come to mind -- lives, the economy and social events. These are the ones, of course, of importance. Nothing can quite compare to the lives lost and businesses shut down. There are some minor casualties -- one being cakes sold at Costco. In June, Costco in the U.S. made the decision to discontinue sales of their popular half-sheet cakes. They stated there were "no immediate plans to bring them back" and many assumed that the decision was made for safety purposes. After all, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings that would require a cake of that size are not currently recommended. One woman even started a Change.org petition asking Costco to bring back the cakes. Have you ever bought a half-sheet cake at Costco?

Coffee chains have been reporting revenues are down, which makes sense with more and more people staying home and working from home -- and making their own coffee in the morning. We are still drinking about the same amount of coffee as before the pandemic, according to polls, but how we drink that coffee has changed. So, while coffee shops like Starbucks, Tim Hortons or Dunkin' Donuts report sales in their stores are down, all three chains say the retail products sold in groceries are doing well. More and more people have opted for brewing their favourite coffee brands at home. Have you been brewing more coffee at home since the pandemic started?

Some businesses have begun to open up -- in Canada, most of the country has indoor restaurant dining, gyms and movie theatres open again, with strict safety measures in place. Even so, many are still reluctant to frequent these businesses, with many adopting a "wait and see" approach. Some businesses and venues are still not open due to the difficulties in ensuring proper safety measures. How many of these businesses or venues do you think will be opening by the end of the year (I realize this is only for Canada, as some of these are already open in the U.S.)?

One coffee chain in Canada has taken a unique turn to combat slumping sales. The Second Cup coffee shops, which has had trouble even before the pandemic, has decided to re-brand itself and, as part of the restructuring, a number of its venues will be transformed from coffee shops into weed retail locations. They have opened up one location already, in Toronto, under the name of Hemisphere Cannabis Co.and plan to open up six more in Ontario by the end of the year. There have also been a number of small locally owned bistro restaurants who have re-branded themselves as grocery markets, due to low sales. Do you think more and more companies will re-brand themselves to stay open during this trying time?