China Overseas Chinese Network, April 20th. Title: Chinese restaurant operators under the epidemic: There is no choice, get through it, and work hard to make money!
New York Manhattan District Chinatown landmark Jinfeng Restaurant has been open for 48 years. There are 800 seats in the restaurant. During the epidemic, the food inventory can still be supplied to 3,000 customers. There are many guests here on weekdays and the sound of people is crowded.
However, due to the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Jinfeng Restaurant was forced to close its business.
Under the epidemic, Chinese restaurant operators around the world are facing huge challenges, and are forced to lay off employees, list them for sale and even permanently close...
Under the epidemic, the empty streets in the old city of Prague, Czech Republic.
"It is not easy to get through this year."
In the global outbreak of the epidemic, the situation of hotel and restaurant operators is particularly difficult. Rent and labor expenses are fixed, but income is not.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 10:00 on the 19th, the number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia in the United States exceeded 758,000 and 40,665 deaths.
The epidemic has a huge impact on Chinese restaurant operators in the United States. The number of tourists in Las Vegas has dropped sharply and the number of business has dropped sharply. Many restaurants on Chunshan Road, Asian Commercial Street are preparing to be listed for sale. "Harbor Palace", the largest Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in Las Vegas, has also temporarily closed its stores.
The largest Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Las Vegas, "Food First", is temporarily closed. (Photo by World Journal/Feng Mingtai)
A Chinese-born real estate agent named You said that as long as he knows, there are seven Chinese and Japanese restaurants to be sold. The seller told him that if the epidemic continues, he will lose all his money.
In Italy, where the epidemic is relatively severe, Shu Jianguo, president of the local Overseas Chinese Food Industry Association, said that Milan Chinese Street was originally a very well-known Chinese food street in the local area, but now almost all of them are closed. He said that the Roman Chinese catering industry has been in a bleak business, with turnover falling by at least 90%.
The Russian Epidemic Prevention Command said on the 19th that Russia's new confirmed cases in a single day reached 6,060, making it the most new cases in Europe in a single day; the cumulative number of confirmed cases has exceeded 40,000.
Moscow As the region with the worst epidemic in Russia, local Chinese food business has also declined sharply.
Moscow's "Wukong Malatang" is located near the embassy area and the university dormitory area. It is the first Malatang restaurant nearby. It used to be a prosperous business.
Data picture: Moscow Red Square at quiet noon under the epidemic.
Due to the outbreak of the epidemic, the traffic of this store has been greatly reduced. For safety reasons, Boss Xu of "Wukong Malatang" began to dissuade customers from reducing dine-in and increasing the proportion of ordering takeaways.
Although takeaway orders are gradually increasing, the overall situation is still not optimistic under the premise that the restaurant's business volume has shrunk significantly and the profit margin is not large.
Boss Xu said that in the past one or two years, there have been fewer and fewer customers, and now he has to close for another week, which makes him worry about the situation of the store.
In Canada, Chinese people live in Toronto , Vancouver and other governments have also stopped dine-in in the catering industry.
Xu Hongyi, president of the Toronto Chinese Restaurant "Green Nest", said that when SARS broke out in 2003, he thought it was the "most terrible" twists and turns in life, but unexpectedly, the epidemic is even more difficult, and he felt that "all are back to zero and start over."
What Xu Hongyi needs to do now is not to stop and find a way to survive the epidemic.
Data map: On March 21 local time, there were few tourists in a recreation block on one side of the famous Niagara Falls Group, a famous attraction at the junction of Canada and the United States. China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong Photo by
China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong Photo by "/
The epidemic has also affected the Chinese food business in Africa. A Chinese food operator in Madagascar wrote in home quarantine:
"On April 5, the store has been closed for 16 days. Business will not work in February. Based on the current situation, even if the epidemic is controlled as soon as possible, even if the stay-at-home order is lifted, there will be fewer people going out to eat than before. It is not easy to get through this year."
"Every crisis is the starting point of a new opportunity"
Chinese restaurants in various places cancel dine-in, and the turnover has declined. Chinese restaurant operators have to change their minds, develop takeaway market, change menus, start live broadcasts, find drivers... I hope to find new hope in the severe situation.
Zhao Yong, founder of the "Junzi Canteen" in New York, fights with HungryPanda Chen Panwen, the operator of the minor operation, said that since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in China in January, his restaurants and takeaway platforms have been preparing for the operation during the epidemic.
restaurant launched a mixed-match menu for remote dining in Chinese, with different weekly themes, mixing Chinese and Filipino meals, etc., and recruiting more delivery drivers in advance for emergencies.
Data picture: On April 4, the young man who delivered express delivery in Makati Green Belt Apartment in Manila CBD. China News Service reporter Guan Xiangdong Photo by
China News Service reporter Guan Xiangdong Photo by
Zhao Yong pointed out that during the epidemic, the people's demand for food placed in the refrigerator has increased significantly, and the gentleman canteen has launched a simple meal suitable for food placed in the refrigerator and then heated it.
In addition, 36 Chinese restaurants in New York City have also joined forces to publish full-page advertisements in local Chinese media to promote main dishes and focus on increasing takeaway income with the title of "Lands in Fighting the Epidemic, Food is open".
The New York Chinatown restaurants are few in number during the epidemic. (Photo by World Journal/Zhang Chen)
As the COVID-19 epidemic is becoming increasingly severe, Zhang Shuo, the head of the "Midi" restaurant in Moscow, said that the "Midi" restaurant originally had takeaway services, and now it pays more attention to this area. With the decrease in passenger flow, business can only be maintained through food delivery.
Zhang Shuo pointed out that now, when making lunch boxes in the "Midi" restaurant, it records videos every day, so that everyone can see how this lunch box is made and try to make the production process transparent. For example, when selling frozen dumplings, we can take pictures of the process of making dumplings so that everyone can eat with confidence.
Harbin Hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia has also expanded its food delivery business. They cooperated with the takeaway platform to launch discount activities, pasting the brochures given to the takeaway platform and the flyers they made themselves in the restaurant, and using WeChat groups and friends to promote food delivery services.
"I believe spring will definitely come"
Under the epidemic, all sectors of society have also seen the difficult situation of catering operators and have provided help to restaurants affected by the epidemic.
U.S. federal government provides low-interest disaster recovery loans to small and medium-sized merchants, with a maximum of $2 million. Some banks have also taken the initiative to give catering lenders a maximum of 90 days of repayment grace period.
Canadian governments at all levels have also recently launched a series of assistance measures for enterprises and individuals. For example, providing interest-free loans and salary subsidies of up to 75% to enterprises, providing general benefits and employment insurance to those who have lost their income.
Data map: On April 11, local time, Ontario, Canada announced the second time to extend the state of emergency to deal with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong Photo
Malaysia China Catering Industry Association (Malaysia Chinese Catering Association), Gao Haoyun, president of the China Catering Industry Association (Malaysia Chinese Catering Association), said that in order to solve the difficulties faced by Chinese restaurant companies in Malaysia, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Chinese-funded enterprises and institutions lend a helping hand in a timely manner.
html At the end of March, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia will provide a batch of protective materials to support the catering industry, while some Chinese institutions will order meals from member units of the Malaysian Chinese Restaurant Association as support.The new crown pneumonia epidemic has brought a huge impact on the Chinese food industry in Malaysia, but many people still choose to persist, and China's support for Malaysia's anti-epidemic has also brought them confidence.
"I believe spring will definitely come." Gao Haoyun said.
virus will pass, darkness will pass. What the Chinese restaurant industry can do now is to stay together and help each other and persevere. After the epidemic, work hard to make money.
(Source: China Overseas Chinese Network official WeChat, author: Xu Wenxin, reference materials: China News Network, China Overseas Chinese Network, the United States World Daily, Japan's New Overseas Chinese News, ID: qiaowangzhongguo)
Source: China Overseas Chinese Network
