China News Service, July 21. According to the US "Qiao Bao" report, although New York has restarted for more than a month, most of the office workers in the midtown Manhattan business district have not returned to work in the office building. The office workers are the main customers. The restaurant business is cold and the pace of recovery is difficult.
The Chinese restaurant "Lvyang Village" on 38th Street and 5th Avenue was temporarily closed due to the epidemic and only reopened in early July. The boss said that it has been closed for 3 or 4 months and is now open, but the business is very cold. The surrounding office workers have not returned to work, and the restaurant business is only 10% of the previous. In order to let customers know that the restaurant has opened, the owner put two tables and chairs on the sidewalk, but the restaurant is still mainly for takeaway.
Another Chinese restaurant, Pinchengdu, located on 39th Street and 6th Avenue, remained open during the epidemic. A clerk said that during this period, the government did not allow dine-in meals and the disappearance of office workers. This is the reason why the restaurant is difficult. If everyone continues to work at home, then the restaurants in the Midtown business district It's hard to get better.
The Chinese restaurant "Caotang" near the Macy's flagship store in Manhattan also faced the same dilemma. The restaurant was closed for two months and reopened in May, but there was no business. The staff member Mr. Chen said that the main customers of the store are office workers in nearby office buildings. When they did not come back to work, no one came to the restaurant to consume. On the contrary, it was those Chinese restaurants located in residential areas, which are now doing very well.
Mr. Chen said that even if the government permits dine-in, it is still unknown whether anyone is willing to come. He estimated that the restaurant's business could not be restored until the epidemic was eliminated. Although the government has introduced measures to assist small businesses, as far as its restaurants are concerned, the federal loan subsidies they apply for are only a drop in the bucket, and most of them are used to pay employees' salaries. However, it is very difficult to support them without customers and poor business. (Lin Jing)