Paige Ellis

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The chief executive of Mr. Sub and Manchu Wok’s parent company said he’s not yet ordering some or all of MTY Food Group Inc.’s 7,373 locations to close to the public, but noted the situation could quickly change.

“At the moment we’re following the guidelines set by the government and not ordering stores to close,” said Eric Lefebvre, MTY’s CEO, in a phone call with BNN Bloomberg Monday morning. “But the situation changes every half hour.”

The comments came just hours after the restaurant operator announced it will halt the collection of royalties for four weeks starting Tuesday.

The move represents an effort by the Montreal-based conglomerate to alleviate some of the pressure on franchisees as they cope with diminishing traffic.

But according to Lefebvre, some franchisees are feeling the strain of social distancing more acutely than others, depending on the store’s brand, geographical location, and setting.

“If the store is in an office tower or mall, traffic is down to very little,” he told BNN Bloomberg. “Stores on the street are doing better, but anything in an enclosed location is struggling.”

Fellow restaurant operator Second Cup Coffee Co. is also bracing for the worst.

“We are… proactively working on contingency plants in the event of a full system shut down,” said Steven Pelton, CEO of Second Cup, in a statement to BNN Bloomberg.

The coffee house on Friday announced its cafés will no longer accept cash and will shut down “self-serve stations” where patrons add milk and cream to their own beverages.

Tim Hortons, meanwhile, announced Monday it plans to "voluntarily close all dining room seating in most locations" in a bid cooperate with calls for increased social distancing.