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“There’s just so many things that keep going up on the operating expense bill every year.”

Browning’s plight is a common refrain, said Mark von Schellwitz, vice-president for Western Canada with Restaurants Canada, noting double-digit cost increases coupled with a double-digit decline in revenues have many Calgary restaurants reeling.

“We’ve heard some people say they’re hanging on until the Calgary Stampede and hoping for a bump in business,” he said.

“These are tough times and we’re trying our best. But it really is almost a perfect storm.”

Amber Ruddy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said these are desperate times for small business owners in Calgary, and policy-makers seem all too eager to further add to their burden.

“Small business owners essentially can’t catch a break,” she said.

“At some point, the straw is going to break the camel’s back, and we’re seeing that already.

“Some small business owners in some cases are putting payroll on their credit cards because they’re hoping they can just get around this bend.”

Ruddy said confidence among Alberta small business owners remains painfully low, with at least one-third saying they’re likely to lay off staff sometime in the next three months.

On Wednesday, Adele Stevens will be at City Hall appealing her $45,000 property tax bill, which just two years ago was a much more manageable $22,000.

For the past 18 years, Stevens has owned CaVaBien Hair Studio & Day Spa in Altadore, but like many other small business owners is now struggling to deal with a bombardment of skyrocketing levies, costs and commitments alongside customers curtailing their spending amid a staggering economy.