China News Service, June 28. According to the US "World Journal" report, it has been a week since California officially reopened.
In the past few days, reporters visited Auckland Chinatown and found that most restaurants have been open for dine-in, but some restaurant owners felt that the dine-in or turnover had only recovered to about 60%.
However, there are also some restaurants that have not yet opened dine-in, the owners said, because they are worried that the meager profit cannot afford the increased staff costs.
After the restart, California has loosened the mask order, but the reporter found that almost all people in Chinatown wear masks and only take off the masks when they enter the restaurant to eat.
The Golden Peony Seafood Tea Room on 9th Street in Chinatown is quite famous in the Bay Area and its business has been very good.
The reporter saw at the scene a few days ago that the restaurant was overcrowded and the staff was very busy.
But the manager said that although business has gradually improved, business has only recovered to about 60% of its pre-epidemic level.
Another Mingweige tea restaurant on Webster Street in Chinatown has also opened for dine-in. It can be seen that customers come in and out, and business has improved somewhat.
Sometimes you have to wait in line, and you have to wait for 20 minutes to order.
However, due to the current difficulty in hiring people and increasing labor costs, many owners would prefer to continue to do takeaways rather than open dine-in meals before the business has fully recovered.
The owner lamented that this was a helpless approach, and could only look at the business recovery before making a decision.
In addition to the Cantonese-style roasted meat on 8th Street of Chinatown, Xinxing Roasted Meat also sells some side dishes. The original business was good.
After the reopening, the business started to pick up. When the reporter visited, from time to time we saw customers entering to buy takeaway.
The proprietor John Zhao said that the epidemic has stabilized, and the California economy has reopened, and restaurant business has recovered to 60% of its pre-epidemic level.
Before the epidemic, there were 7 employees. With the return of business, the number of employees has now returned to 4, but indoor dining has not yet been opened.
During the chat, a Chinese customer entered the restaurant, hoping to dine indoors. John reluctantly said that it hasn't opened yet and I'm sorry.
The two customers turned and left.
John told reporters that if dine-in is opened, at least one more employee needs to be hired, but with the current meagre profits, it can't bear the cost of adding an employee, so he had to choose not to open it.
John said that although people have been vaccinated and the epidemic has been gradually brought under control, the consumption habits that everyone has cultivated during the epidemic cannot return all at once, and an adaptation process is required.
For example, in the past, everyone ate at home to avoid the epidemic, and many people were used to ordering takeout.
Their consumption patterns have not yet changed.
Moreover, there are still some people who are afraid of the epidemic and dare not go out to consume, so even if dine-in is opened, business may not be able to come back right away.
"I personally estimate that compared to before the epidemic, it is difficult for 100% of customers to return to the restaurant."
In addition to the time it takes for customers to return, the rising cost of ingredients is also a challenge currently facing the catering industry.
John said that during the epidemic, the cost of food also began to rise sharply.
Some goods used to be 30 dollars a box, but now they are nearly 100 dollars.
All food unit prices are rising, but restaurants can only slightly adjust prices to offset part of the cost increase.
“The most difficult thing to do is probably the buffet, because the cost has risen sharply, but the unit price of the buffet is often not increased significantly in order to retain residents.”
Although California has reopened and the catering business has begun to come back to life, the road to recovery is still long. Merchants must be patient and careful to attract customers little by little.
For example, when it comes to wearing a mask, John said that the restaurant has cancelled the six-foot (approximately 1.8 meters) social distancing requirement, but he personally still wears a mask to serve food to people ordering takeout.
Because he is engaged in the service industry, wearing a mask will give customers confidence, "If I did not wear a mask, it is estimated that some customers would not dare to come in and consume. There are still many people wearing masks on the street, unless more than 90% of people don’t wear masks. , Otherwise I will wear it forever." (Liu Xianjin)