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-But is it going to get better? -I'm a waiter, not a meteorologist. A couple doubts whether to sit on the terrace of Ni subo ni bajo, one of the bars in Chamberí that has been reversible on the street.
The language of hospitality drenches the urban landscape of Madrid
.
The man and the woman look at Manuel, the manager, as if the isobars for Friday were drawn on the Galician tapas cards he is holding.
The napkins vibrate in a swarm of paper notifying the cloudy.
The waiter, one of the veterans
of the area, wait for the answer.
It is the last free table on the terrace. -We stay -she chooses a chair-. The place, in addition to enjoying the sidewalk crescent on the corner of García de Paredes with Alonso Cano,
has broken into the green area of the car park with five tables
, like so many others in the city.
The bars have occupied about a thousand places that before the epidemic were reserved for cars
.
Help pay taxes.
Turn off the Erte to employees.
Nothing else, "says Manuel in the doorway.
Raise your voice.
You want to make sure they hear you.
Some customers look up from their beers.
“The expansion of the terraces does not help us to earn money.
Just to survive »
.
The command gets cold in the notebook.
Manuel disappears into the gloom of the interior with an atmosphere of
saloon
shot by droplets, the curse of the covered tables.
Being in Galicia is depressing.
We have come to Madrid with a medical appointment
The Hospitality and Restoration Terraces Commission of the Madrid City Council agreed in December to extend the extension permit until May.
It will expire, if nothing changes, on the same day -May 9- that the state of alarm decreed by the Government after modifying Resolution 51 of May 14, 2020.
"Procedures are lightened by the epidemic"
, says Beatriz, in charge of El patio de Chamberí, the neighborhood where more street tables have sprouted since June.
"Some parking terraces have come to stay," said Deputy Mayor Begoña Villacís, in charge of
inaugurate
«El terraceo» during the first wave, a few days ago on the radio «I have not yet set the tables because I don't know if they have confirmed them for us.
We have asked to expand with five ».
According to sources in the hospitality sector, "notifying the district board of the change is enough."
Unlike other provincial capitals, Madrid has kept the bars open during the third wave.
The bleeding has been stopped in part:
“The terrace does not make up for it at all.
The best months come from April
.
Let's see if they keep us expanding.
The owner has come to put money out of his pocket to balance the accounts ”, despite the fact that“ it is always full, ”says Beatriz. You can reach General Martínez Campos by going down the street from Iglesia.
In the staircase of 15, the aperitif is played.
"You don't know what you have in Madrid"
, says Amalia, who shares the table with two friends.
He is 24 years old and lives in Santiago.
Has crossed the
checkpoint
de Feijóo providing the excuse of a medical appointment.
"There are good dentists in Madrid," he ironizes.
Being there is depressing.
You couldn't get out.
We are on drunken tourism thanks to Ayuso
.
It's a joke.
It's a joke".
"Madrid is jauja"
Marina works in Seville.
“There you can only be on the street until six in the afternoon.
Everyone reserves to eat.
There are weeks when you call on a Wednesday to get a table thinking about Saturday and you can't.
Madrid is jauja
", considers.
Amalia and Marina's link in the city is Claudia, also from Santiago, who is studying a master's degree in «PI».
About what?
"Intellectual property," laugh the three.
"My neighbors in Gaztambide are fed up with the terraces that occupy parking lots",
According to the CIS, one in three Spaniards has cried over the pandemic.
No, no, I have not had anxiety.
I have not cried.
No drama has touched me closely
.
The truth is that Madrid is great.
The terraces are an escape valve to better face this situation.
We have already assumed the dead, the situation of the hospitals.
It is awful.
This way, you get along better, ”he says while waving to a friend who is approaching. At 3:00 pm, the terrace of La Espumosa is empty.
«From 17 o'clock it begins to fill up.
From Friday to Sunday we have a waiting list of 40 clients », explains the waitress Sonia.
A group of clients draws your attention from afar:
"Can we sit down and drink coffee and champagne?"
.
Sonia gives them permission.
They are coming.
This collapses.
During the week it is looser.
We are not known for being a cafeteria or for eating, but on weekends if you don't book, don't sit down ».
With the crisis, the catering groups aspire to have more premises
On Santa Engracia street, La bien tirada winds its way down towards José Abascal.
"That is the enlarged part of the terrace", clarifies Sergio, the
maitre d '
.
They opened in October.
This bar is new.
We have saved the furniture.
It's easier for us because we belong to the Lalalá group ”, which has bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Madrid.
“The catering groups can aspire to more venues now.
When others go down, we can go up », reflects Sergio.
Count "12 tables."
Expanding the terrace “was not complicated.
We are grateful to the politicians but these things are for interest.
See what happens
morning
». At night, Richelieu's firefly lights Eduardo Dato.
"We have done very well"
says Juanjo, the head waiters.
"We are lucky with our clientele."
In any case, «without the terrace we would not have been able to survive.
It has a lot of space.
We have not requested an extension, the truth.
We only report the use of stoves and other facilities to spend the winter.
Inside, "three tables" are occupied a day.
And although billing “has dropped due to time restrictions,” they have hired “one more waiter.” “There should be fewer restrictions,” Luis considers.
Along with him, four friends pour glasses "from five in the afternoon" in the Plaza de Olavide.
The conversations evaporate in a uniform murmur and the more than 150 tables are a conglomeration of people, the great terrace of the city.
«Bars have to eat
», Warns Carlos.
«Madrid has achieved the balance between economy and health.
There are not so many infections.
What will happen in May?
Bars and restaurants hope to keep their 'new' terraces.
"No decision has yet been made," municipal sources clarify to this newspaper.
For now, up to six people per table and a capacity of 75% are allowed.
From the City Council they indicate that they are studying "what will happen when the state of alarm ends"
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