Hustling Weed on the Side Helps Keep My Restaurant Open

This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES in July 2016.

Welcome back to Restaurant Confessionals, where we talk to the unheard voices of the restaurant industry from both the front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) about what really goes on behind the scenes at your favourite establishments. In this edition, we hear from a restaurateur who makes ends meet through less than legal means.

Most restaurants are barely making it. To survive financially, a lot of restaurants will engage in shady tactics like paying employees off the books or underreporting earnings to avoid paying taxes. And while I’m not against any of that, I prefer to stay legit on the books, and choose to have a side hustle of selling weed instead.

I knew that there would be a lot of unanticipated costs for running my own restaurant, but wasn’t until I was the boss and paying the bills myself that it really hit me. Rent, gas, electricity, food costs, trash services, linens, staff payroll—these are just some of the things that are fixed costs. But then there’s paying the florist, lawyers, PR company, insurance, workman’s comp, and everything else the restaurant needs to function daily.

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