Not as many people are eating out these days, both in Cranbrook and the rest of the province, and the HST is being cited as the culprit by key figures in the industry.

Dave Kaiser, the McDonald's franchisee in Cranbrook, says he doesn't have exact figures yet but points to a slump in sales the second half of the year after the controversial tax was introduced July 1.

"Overall it was a flat year. We were busy in the first half of the year, but in the second half it slowed down." Kaiser says he didn't raise his prices all year with the only price difference being the imposition of the HST in July.

Other McDonald's operators in the province have told him the same thing. As a result, he says the only conclusion he can come to is that the sales slump is related to the HST. "I think the McDonald's corporation has felt the impact around the entire province."

Matt Gareau, manager of the Tim Hortons Restaurant on Cranbrook Street, says he feels the same. "Definitely my folks and I (the Gareau family own both Tim Hortons in Cranbrook) have seen it have an impact on our business. Administration is easier, but we're in this business to make money."

Both Gareau and Kaiser say they have heard reports out of Ontario that when the HST was implemented in that province it only kicked in at a minimum price on restaurant meals meaning some low price meals and snacks could still be purchased with out paying the dreaded tax.

"That would really appeal to many of our seniors when they're just ordering a coffee and a muffin," says Kaiser, adding the Ontario system would help BC restaurant owners by acting as a "cost buffer" for the HST.

Kaiser says the HST also provides some advantages for restaurant owners by reducing the amount of tax they have to pay on equipment purchases and making the taxation system more efficient by having one tax instead of two and only having to pay one taxing authority, the federal government, which collects the tax on behalf of the provinces.

If the HST referendum was held today, Kaiser says he's certain it would be defeated. But that won't be the end of the matter because some sort of a tax in the situation is "inevitable," he says.

"When the vote comes, they'll probably vote it down but the politicians will probably do something to fine tune it a bit. Maybe knock it down to 10 per cent and just tell the industry to suck it up and keep going. I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon."

Meanwhile, according to a CBC radio story, the price of restaurant meals in B.C. has risen to three times the national average, based on the latest Consumer Price Index figures from Statistics Canada.

Restaurant meals have risen 7.5 per cent, compared to a national average of 2.5 per cent, the figures reveal.

Over the same period, supermarket food prices have been stable or even dropped slightly.

It's all about the HST, said Ian Tostenson, head of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Service Association.

The new seven-per-cent tax, which replaced the provincial sales tax, was imposed July 1 and is applied to restaurant meals, which the PST was not.

"Restaurants had no way to save money," said Tostenson. "All they can do is pass on that seven per cent."

A binding referendum on the HST is currently scheduled for September 2011, although some candidates to replace Premier Gordon Campbell have promised to hold the province-wide vote sooner.