Bussiness

Viral video shows people lined up for hours at Mandarin restaurants for its free buffet on Canada Day. Was it worth it? – NOW Toronto

Published

4 months ago

July 2, 2024

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Viral video shows people lined up for hours at Mandarin restaurants for its free buffet on Canada Day. Was it worth it? – NOW Toronto

Thousands of Ontarians lined up for hours outside Mandarin restaurants on Canada Day for its free buffet, leading some to question the state of the province’s economy.

In celebration of its 45th anniversary, the popular Chinese-Canadian franchise invited guests to a free all-you-can-eat buffet at all of its 30 Ontario locations. In addition to its massive food selection, customers also received complimentary drinks as well.

Admission was offered on a first-come, first-served basis from noon to 8 p.m. However, according to media reports, many attendees started lining up hours before.

One X user said some people in Brampton were lined up as early as 4 a.m.

Elsewhere at Yonge and Eglinton, one user said there were already 120 people in the queue when she arrived shortly before 9 a.m.

Online, some users say the crazy line up just wasn’t worth their time.

“My time is more valuable, I’ll pay the $40 for the full buffet,” one TikTok user said.

“Have some dignity, people. Gees. It’s only $40. Go tomorrow,” another user commented.

“Mandarin don’t even hit enough to line up for hours just to eat free,” one user on X said.

“Toronto’s poor,” another user said.

Meanwhile, other users suggest Mandarin should offer the deal to people who actually need it.

“They should be feeding the homeless people who actually need it. Not people who want it, what a joke,” one user on TikTok said.

“Mandarin should have offered a free meal to those in need on Canada Day,” another user said.

Now Toronto reached out to Mandarin for comment but have yet to receive a response by publication deadline.

Adult pricing at Mandarin costs $25.99 for lunch and $35.99 for dinner. Prices are $4 higher on Fridays and weekends.

COULD LONG LINEUPS BE A SIGN OF POVERTY ON THE RISE?

The viral videos of Mandarin’s huge lineups comes on the heels of a recent report by Food Banks Canada that found that an estimated 25 per cent of Canadians are living in poverty because they cannot afford two or more household essentials.

In the report, authors Michael Mendelson, Maytree fellow and a former deputy minister in Ontario and Manitoba, and Geranda Notten, professor of comparative public policy at the University of Ottawa, introduced a Material Deprivation Index (MDI) to measure the poverty level standard of living in Canada.

According to the MDI, 30 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 to 30 years old, 44.5 per cent of single-parent families and 42 per cent of renters experience a poverty level standard of living.

Additionally, the report revealed other demographics experiencing high rates of a poverty standard of living. This include respondents who are unemployed and looking for work (55.5 per cent), those receiving government transfers as their main source of income (55.4 per cent), those who identify as Black (34.4 per cent), those dentifying as Indigenous (37.4 per cent) and lastly, those living with a disability (37 per cent).