"If you've seen the hit FX series "The Bear," you'll know that running a restaurant is tough. It seems like every episode there's a new obstacle for Carmy Berzatto and his team to hurdle, whether it's preparing for cutthroat reviewers, affording enough stock, offering timely attentive service, or simply getting customers through the door. It's a TV series, sure, but many have praised its accurate representation of the industry."
"So, if one restaurant is hard, imagine what it is like to run an entire chain. Throw in recessions, pandemics, and a cost of living crisis, and running a restaurant business seems like a nightmare. For many restaurant chains, factors like this, perhaps unsurprisingly, led them straight into bankruptcy. But resilience, forward-thinking, and modernization also helped many survive the financial chaos."
"Upscale vegan restaurant chain Planta was founded in Toronto back in 2016, and by 2025, it had expanded to 18 locations across both Canada and the U.S. The locations were divided into three concepts: Planta, Planta Queen (which focused on Asian-style cuisine), and Planta Cocina (which focused on Pan-Latin food). For a while, it seemed like Planta was thriving."
Running a restaurant requires constant management of reviewers, inventory, timely service, and customer acquisition. Scaling those operations across a chain amplifies complexity, and external shocks such as recessions, pandemics, and cost-of-living crises forced many chains into bankruptcy. Recovery for some chains relied on resilience, forward-thinking decisions, and modernization efforts. Planta, an upscale vegan chain founded in Toronto in 2016, grew to 18 locations by 2025 with three concepts—Planta, Planta Queen, and Planta Cocina—and initially earned strong customer satisfaction for food quality, presentation, service, and atmosphere, though expansion during the pandemic later stressed the business.
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