For small businesses that survive COVID, recovery is expected to be difficult
Having 12 cases of mini eggs on hand sounds like the makings of a grandiose Easter hunt or the ultimate way to soothe a sweet tooth, but for Josie Rudderham, the confections have put her in quite the crunch.“We have joked about pouring them into a bathtub and doing a photo shoot because there is enough to do that, but really they are part of the cycle of investing in ingredients to make a lot of sales that didn't happen,” said Rudderham, the co-owner of Cake and Loaf in Hamilton, Ont.She spent the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic closing one of her two bakeries, taking on debt, laying off workers during the busy Easter season and offering curbside pickup, but the boxes remain.