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The sidewalk of the restaurants on Jorge Juan Street is practically empty.
The terraces are the setting for a
western
.
The duel at eight o'clock in the afternoon that the hoteliers have against Monday, the
blue
Monday,
the epidemic and its consequences, such as the new curfew in Madrid that has come into force this week.
People must be home at eleven at night.
Restaurants close at ten
.
Until Sunday they were allowed to open until twelve.
For Almagro there is hardly a
Some passerby coming back from the office.
The locals stand still.
On Zurbano Street, he flicks the sign for La peseta de Doña Casilda. "The new curfew doesn't affect me.
Instead of going out to dinner, I go out to eat.
I don't care if I go home at one hour or another.
Those who are really going to have a hard time are the hoteliers ", he raises his eyebrows
Natalie
, one of the clients who takes advantage of the local terrace to have a cigarette with a friend in front of two glasses of wine, towards the waiter who serves the next table. It's a few minutes until eight in the afternoon and Eduardo Dato is a dark, cold and lonely place.
At least on the sidewalk of the peers
.
The ice sheets surround the gate of San Fermín de los Navarros.
Paloma comes from Ruben Darío avoiding the islets of snow.
"One more hour? Well, it solves a lot for me.
Life is more than work.
They want us to go to work.
The subways are packed with people and in restaurants or bars we can't spend a good time.
Isn't it incongruous?
It's that we can't have a beer anymore.
They don't give us time, "he ventures." If they lock us up again, I get syncope.
There are already many restrictions. "" You are right.
No one understands it, "says the
maitre d '
from La bien Aparecida, the first place that cuts Jorge Juan's climb from Serrano.
He prefers not to give his name.
The restaurant belongs to the Cañadío group
, the society of the hoteliers Paco Quirós and Carlos Crespo,
the Cantabrian empire of five restaurants in the capital.
The bar is completely empty.
Inside, some movement is observed.
The manager attends some tables.
"We have given some waiters vacations. Normally we are two managers and this week, in anticipation, we have taken turns.
We do not want to put anyone back in the Erte
"He explains." Many clients have come at eight in the afternoon, to take advantage. "Others have advanced their reservations or have directly canceled them.
"Before, we doubled tables or tripled them
.
Now you only use it once.
In the box it shows.
We lose more than half, "he assures. When they call, many warn:" If I can't have a drink, I'd rather cancel. "As in Amazónico. Its rush hour is at ten o'clock." We are late at night.
The new curfew means 40% less turnover
.
From ten to twelve it tends to burst and now we have to tell the customers that they cannot be served at less than a quarter, "says Gonzalo, one of the managers. Alejandra, the other boss, scares a guy who wanted a table at nine thirty.
"We have noticed that many people come from abroad just for lunch or dinner.
Taking advantage of a medical appointment, they stay in Madrid, which is the most permissive city with the hotel industry, "adds Gonzalo. The atmosphere of La Maquina contrasts with the desolation of Puigcerd Street. The snow has lifted some of the terraces. All the venues They are closed The umbrellas upturned towards the pedestrian crossing look like the bow of a shipwreck.
"We are very influenced by the curfew"
says Laura, the maître d 'at Lobito de Mar. The Galician accent is the steam that escapes from the mask.
"We can only do one dinner shift" and look at the clock:
"The kitchen just closed."
It's 8:45 p.m.
"The last order enters now. In our restaurant we cannot rush. It requires a process. Not everything comes out at once. We are haute cuisine," he defends the concept. He has spent Monday managing cancellations.
"Normally we have 150 or 170 people eating at the same time"
.
The downstairs room is empty.
A few patrons chat at the few tables near the entrance.
"It's one of the worst days since the start of the pandemic," he looks around.
"We do not compensate with noon. We have already begun to send people to the Erte. We rotate for weeks. Now Javi," he points out to the nearest waiter, "he is leaving for a month."
Javi confirms it: "It's a bit weird.
We live from week to week, wondering if we'll be next
.
I hope this time the Sepe works better than in March ". Four women hurry dinner on the terrace of El Paraguas." We are alone.
It is usually crowded.
It's incredible ", they describe the desolation of Jorge Juan Street. A dog barks between the legs of the table." We prefer to have dinner, really.
Good thing we are telecommuting.
If not, we could not have reached
"says one of them, finishing her cigarette. Inside, there is an empty room." We have it full of things.
We will only reopen it in case people return as before the pandemic
", Jose, maitre d 'agrees, to explain the situation of the restaurant." If the night was bad, this aggravates it.
I think that in bars people are more controlled.
In their homes, who knows what they do "
.
It has also been a regular day for them.
"We have canceled reservations. To those who call, we warn them that they will have to stay at least two hours.
At the latest, eight thirty must come in.
People are not used to having dinner so early. "The ruin that is sensed hits the employees." Many have returned to the Erte.
Others have started working part-time.
The truth is that we are very sorry, but we have no other choice.
It has already been shown that the hospitality industry can be open.
That the main problem is not us.
These two hours are noticeable
".
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