China Overseas Chinese Network, July 4th, according to the British "Huawen Weekly" reported that on July 4, the UK will start the third phase of the closure, bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, museums and art galleries will also reopen. After a three-month blockade, Chinatown London will open its doors tomorrow to welcome guests.
To celebrate the reopening of Chinatown, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce in London organized a series of activities. At 12 noon on the 4th, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce will hold a lion dance performance on the spot. In order to strictly abide by the requirements of the government's restraint order, only one person danced the lion, and required the participants to wear masks and consciously maintain a distance of one to two meters.
London Chinatown before the blockade. (British "Huawen Weekly")
After the event, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce in London will also distribute free protective masks, Chinese medicine, hand sanitizer, protective clothing and goggles at Newport Place in Chinatown in conjunction with Zhejiang Club, Hunan Club and Zhongshan Club.
In addition, some restaurants in Chinatown will also issue discount coupons at the event site, hoping to attract a large number of diners to the unsealed London Chinatown.
Deng Zhuting, chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce, said that in the new stage of unblocking, whether it is the diners’ dining environment or the epidemic prevention conditions of the back kitchen, the merchants in Chinatown are ready to adapt to the new requirements under the epidemic and strive to give everyone a safety A safe dining environment.
British restaurants will be closed for business on July 4th. How is the Chinese restaurant business in the UK prepared? The British "Huawen Weekly" interviewed several Chinese food practitioners in London, including Chinese merchants in Chinatown in London, Chinese food business operators operating restaurants in other business districts in London, and some Chinese buffet restaurants that have not yet obtained permission from the government to open their doors. Practitioners. Faced with difficulties, they are confident in overcoming difficulties while worrying.
Chinese restaurant business in London Chinatown: first look at the situation
Jinli Restaurant has four branches in the UK, two of which are located in Chinatown. Only the old Chinatown store will open tomorrow.
Jinli General Manager Martin told Huawen Weekly that as a Chinese restaurant loved by Chinese students, their customers are mainly Chinese students. "Recently students have returned to China recently, so we will first look at the situation, if the business is good, then open the flagship store in Chinatown." Martin frankly said.
Before the blockade, customers lined up in front of the old Jinli shop in Chinatown, London. (Provided by the interviewee)
"During the blockade, the flagship store in Chinatown was not open. We lost about 3,000-5,000 pounds a week. But the other three Jinli still insist on business and provide take-out services." Martin said, "Although the price of ingredients has increased by 10%-20 %, but we insist on not increasing the price, and also provide 10% discount for students."
After opening on July 4, Jinli will take measures such as measuring body temperature at the door, registering guest information, and allowing guests to wash their hands with alcohol hand sanitizer above 75 degrees before entering the door.
In addition, they will use disposable tableware and menus, and take a table and sit at the table to maintain social distance. "Our old store in Chinatown has three floors. It could have accommodated up to 100-120 people. Now we only open the first and second floors. It can hold about 40 people," Martin said.
Disposable tableware prepared in Jinli. (Provided by the interviewee)
Miqilin also has a branch in Chinatown. Xiqi Peng, a partner of Miqilin, told Huawen Weekly that Miqilin plans to reopen dine-in on the afternoon of the 4th and continue to insist on takeout. "Our desks and tables will be distributed as much as possible. For guests without masks, we will also provide guests with free masks, and encourage customers to scan their orders with mobile phones, so as to minimize the contact between customers and the floor." Xiong Peng Say.
At the same time, in order to ensure the safety and hygiene of the food delivery as far as possible, Mi Qilin also requested the staff of the food delivery company to take non-contact food when receiving the meal, and encouraged some nearby guests to come to the store to pick it up.
Other London Chinese restaurant industry: "Confidence will gradually improve"
In addition to the reopening of restaurants in Chinatown in London tomorrow, Chinese restaurant operators in other London business districts have been busy reopening these days.
Happy Lamb Hotpot is located in the business district of the British Museum in London. In an interview with "Huawen Weekly", Li Wenjing, the manager of Happy Lamb UK, was busy with employee training and various preparations before opening. She said excitedly that the store reopening on July 4 was a "big day", "We have been waiting for a long time."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on June 23 that the restaurant will be open for business on July 4. Li Wenjing said that when she heard the news at first, she was determined to open the door.
But in the past two days, after experiencing the closure of Leicester and hearing that some Chinese restaurant practitioners in the surroundings did not intend to open the door, she also hesitated whether to open it. Until June 30, Li Wenjing and her colleagues decided to "open!"
During the blockade, Happy Lamb also experienced a difficult period. (Provided by the interviewee)
"Why open? Service customer chant, one night a few days ago, our management held a meeting in the restaurant. In just two hours, several guests have called to ask when we will open. There are also many guests during the blockade. Ask the same questions through private channels. There are still many students who are trapped in London because of the epidemic. They have been bored in the dormitory for a long time, and they want to come out to open up." She told Hua Wenjun with a smile.
"After the reopening, our business hours have basically returned to the time before the blockade. I want to try it for a week. We also have more than 20 branches in the country. The business was not good at the beginning. Slowly," she added. .
Although it only took a few days to prepare for the opening, they had hoarded many small bottles of disposable hand sanitizer and masks before the blockade in March.
After deciding to reopen, they urgently purchased an independent contactless hand sanitizer sensor. "The price is one-third more expensive than before, and many places are out of stock. The one we ordered was delivered the day before yesterday."
Happy Lamb set up an independent, non-contact inductive hand sanitizer at the door, and attached a ground sticker for drainage. (Provided by the interviewee)
Li Wenjing also told "Huawen Weekly" that they took a series of measures to deal with the New Deal after the unsealing. In order to prevent guests from gathering in front of the door, they set up a guest entry registration system. "In the case of many customers, you can scan the QR code to queue up, so that you can notify the guests to eat in advance through the mobile phone text message, avoiding the situation of customers waiting at the front door; in case of an outbreak, we can also contact according to this system Guests, take appropriate measures."
They have added manpower to guide passenger flow in the lobby, and guests need to take their temperature before entering the restaurant. In addition, they intend to open both doors at the door to reduce the chance of guests touching the door.
It turned out that Happy Lamb Restaurant can accommodate up to 150 people, but now to ensure everyone's dining safety, they can only receive up to about 75 people after reopening, and they will limit the flow of guests.
"Our restaurant originally had some partition design, and we are still looking for someone to install a new restaurant partition. These days, everyone is looking for partitions, so it will take more time. In some places, the seats are relatively close. We will sit and sit at a table."
Earlier, the British government adjusted the social isolation distance from 2 meters to more than 1 meter. In response to this change, Happy Lamb has to make corresponding adjustments, such as putting the "note one meter isolation distance" instruction on the wall.
In places where they wash their hands, they will also post instructions on how to wash their hands safely. "The wash basins in our toilets are relatively close, and we will close half of the hand-washing facilities." She said, "Originally, the washroom was cleaned every half an hour, but now it is changed to clean every 20 minutes."
"Three Treasures for Epidemic Prevention" prepared by Happy Lamb: Disinfecting sprays, temperature detectors and disposable menus for guests. (Provided by the interviewee)
Li Wenjing further stated: "We do not set up the table in advance, the customers come to set up again. And use the disposable paper menu to order, destroy it after use, and the pen is also sterilized. The bar chairs are also removed, the bar area is They cannot stay or serve guests."
In addition to adjusting the dining environment and order of the restaurant, they also required all employees to wear masks, and asked the front office staff and the back kitchen staff to eat separately. After eating, the dining place should be disinfected in time and in the kitchen’s five A small bottle of hand sanitizer is also placed on the mouth.
"Every employee comes to work and will take a body temperature and sign an asymptomatic responsibility letter. The employee who comes to the delivery must record the personnel and company information, and all the goods sent must be disinfected first." Li Wenjing said.
Although the happy lamb has been closed and closed during the isolation period, the various expenses such as rent, electricity, security, and network fees are still correct. "Actually, the business has been very bad since March. I think many Chinese restaurants face the same situation and will experience a very difficult period."
Li Wenjing said that they also considered taking out food, but felt that the customer experience was not good, so they didn't do it. "We are still confident and feel that it will gradually get better. When we say we want to open the door, most employees are willing to come back to work," she said.
Chinese buffet practitioners: "If you are not busy, you have to post it"
The epidemic not only made Chinese restaurants face survival challenges, but also made many British restaurants in trouble. Some British restaurant chains have been on the verge of bankruptcy or directly declared bankruptcy before they were closed.
Just yesterday, the Casual Dining Group, which owns chain restaurant brands such as Café Rouge and Bella Italia, entered the bankruptcy liquidation process.
Although the British catering industry is about to be closed on July 4, the buffet restaurant is excluded. Qinglong is one of many Chinese practitioners who operate cafeterias in the UK. He told "Huawen Weekly" that according to government regulations, the cafeteria is currently not allowed to open on July 4. He also agreed with the government's approach that the buffet is "exposed and prone to infection" and is not suitable for business.
Even though the government allowed the cafeteria to open, Qing Long said that he did not plan to open the door: "The buffet is not like ordering. You can make a few of them. When the buffet is prepared, you can cook for hundreds of people. If you are not busy, you have to post it. After the restaurant opened, the social distance has dropped from 2 meters to more than 1 meter, but compared with the original restaurant capacity, it is still much less, so now the door must be lost."
In addition, according to Qinglong's observation, the restaurant that is currently open also faces the following challenges: "Overall, people have no money in their pockets, and the only living cost is only enough to buy food in the supermarket to cook at home, which will naturally reduce the number of people dining out. Frequency; and, the new crown vaccine has not yet been introduced, and many people still have the courage to eat in the restaurant. These are all objective factors that lead to a reduction in passenger traffic."
Qinglong also told "Huawen Weekly" that some of the restaurants in his restaurant have already started to take out food, but because the commissions from the takeaway platform are relatively high, and they changed the food from temporary meals, "the situation is not very good. ". "Of course, we hope that everything will develop in a good way, which is the best, but who can know what will happen after the unblocking?" So his current strategy is "to take one step at a time".
Mr. Li (pseudonym), another Chinese owner who runs four buffet restaurants, also told Huawen Weekly that he shares the same view as Qinglong: "No one will go to restaurants now, unless there is no new crown case in the UK. Well, otherwise how can everyone have the confidence to eat? Opened to pay more."
Mr. Li told "Huawen Weekly" that although the restaurant is not open for business, the rent and service fee payable are as much. He can only gritt his teeth and continue to close the door, "planning to open the door until the end of the year." (Text: Peng Lin Photography: Peng Lin/Gao Chenxi)