The restaurant perspective
FOR the past two months, restaurant owners have been treated to the welcome sight of diners returning to their eateries – sometimes in throngs.
“For the most part, what I understand from the people coming into the restaurant is that they have been locked at home for so long that they have a strong urge to come out, socialise and see their friends.
“So people have been coming in droves, especially since the four pax per table ruling was lifted a couple of weeks ago,” says Au Kai Zen, who does business development for his family’s Kenny Hills Bakers eateries.
Chef Evert Onderbeke, who helms fine-dining restaurant Soleil in DC Mall says the relative quiet of the mall has proven to be a boon for his business.
“At the beginning, when we reopened, people seemed very worried, but now it seems to be much better already. Also we are lucky that DC Mall is not so crowded, so people feel safe coming here. Our restaurant is not very small, so we can easily do the distancing. So I think people have some assurance when they come,” he says.
Restaurant owners also say that most Malaysians have been very compliant with the new SOPS.
“The crowd has been very supportive and good, and they are very cautious as well.
“They come in wearing masks, check their temperature and practise social distancing,” says Andrew Tan, one of the partners at Crab Meet Restaurant, a Chinese seafood eatery.
Au says there are always a few that are resistant to change, but restaurants have to be firm in keeping to the regulations.
“Yes, for sure, some people try to squeeze their way in without getting their temperature scanned – especially when it’s busy. But we have to stop them and get them to do the necessary,” he says.
On their end, restaurants have had to do a bit of manoeuvring and rearranging to meet the new regulations.
Extra tables and chairs have had to be stored away and now that more than four people at a time can sit at a table, some restaurants with smaller tables have had to work out additional coordination.
“While we do let more than four sit at a table, our tables are small so we have to make sure people are not crowded around one single table, so if, for example, six people come in, we give them three small tables, just so there is no cramming and some sort of distance,” he says.
While Tan and Au have both implemented social distancing, temperature scanning and other regular processes in their restaurant, Onderbeke has gone a few steps further.
“We have a UV robot to sanitise the sofas and tables, and we provide a UV box for customers to sanitise their phones or keys,” he says.
Because many restaurants are no longer operating at the capacity that their space was designed for, they have had to resort to other business ventures to help sustain them through this tough period.
“I would say we are at about 60% capacity now, so we have to push for deliveries and takeaways.
“When we have limited customers, there’s only so much we can do, so we have to do promos for deliveries and takeaways.
“People are a bit more happy about it as well, because there are discounts,” says Tan.
Onderbeke meanwhile says his restaurant is only operating at 50% capacity, so the brand is diversifying their income stream by selling wine to customers (the company has a wine business).
Ultimately, although it might take a while for business to get back to normal, restaurant owners are optimistic. Even with the new SOPS in place, things are picking up quite dramatically.
“A lot of our regulars have come to the restaurant already and it seems like more and more are coming back. So hopefully by next month, it should be back to normal,” says Onderbeke.
Au meanwhile says they actually have a lot more customers now than they did before the MCO as a result of engaging with people on social media – a move that has since gained them more followers.
“Business might actually be better than pre-mco, for the simple reason that during MCO, we focused on deliveries and takeaways, and on social media to keep our presence on people’s minds.
“So we gained quite a large social media following, which has resulted in a lot of new people visiting now that they can,” he says.