A former Kamloops restaurateur says the upcoming closure of Swiss Chalet and Harvey’s in the city can be attributed to several factors.

Speaking on the NL Morning News, Frank D’Amore, who has owned different eateries around the city, including Frick and Frack downtown, said new taxes are at least one component that makes it tough on small businesses.

“There’s a lot of challenges, especially this year with the new health tax,” he said. “I can tell you, on average, some of the restaurants are paying an extra $2,500 a month for health taxes.”

He said raising the minimum wage also hits small businesses in the pocketbook.

“The minimum wage increase is just absolutely hard to absorb,” he noted. “For example, when we were in the restaurant business back in 2011-2012, it went up a couple of dollars and that put an 18 percent increase on our expenses for wages.”

And he says franchise restaurants are a different animal compared to other local restaurants.

“It’s not a mom-and-pop kind of operation where you can do everything and be there sixteen hours a day,” D’Amore said. “They’re all pretty much hired employees form the managers all the way down to the dishwashers and it becomes a huge cost for them to carry on.”

D’Amore notes the Sandman Centre, the Rocky Mountaineer, and the proposed Centre for the Arts are some of the things that are vital for restaurants, especially those downtown, to stay viable.