EATERIES READY FOR DINE-IN CUSTOMERS
Some have their own SOP, while others won’t open just yet
AFTER weeks of banking on food deliveries and takeaways, some restaurants are ready to receive dine-in customers under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), which begins today.
Preparations in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOP) under the CMCO have been in full swing after the announcement made by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Thursday.
Among the procedures that need to be fulfilled include a 2m gap between tables, ensuring the staff are equipped with face masks and gloves, providing hand sanitiser and hand-washing facilities, as well as recording customers’ contact details and body temperatures.
SOUL Society Group chief operating officer Brian Choo said it had been working towards complying with the SOP at its restaurants, such as SOULed OUT, Tujo and Hubba, since Friday.
Choo said given the short notice, it had gone all out at the office and outlets to prepare.
“We will be open for dine-in customers, but on a minimal scale following the stringent protocols set.
“We are operating only at 30 per cent in-house dining capacity. This is to provide physical space for patrons.
“The usual seating capacity at SOULed OUT in Taman Sri Hartamas is 350 people. But after the 2m-gap table arrangements to maintain social distancing, we are looking at 100 people over a 7,000-sq-ft area.
“All floors are also marked so tables are not allowed to move. We will cater only for that capacity and nothing more,” he said, adding that SOULed OUT in Kota Kinabalu would remain closed.
Choo said to minimise contact, customers could scan the menus via a QR code at their tables.
The restaurants won’t accept cash, only debit and credit cards. Customers who wish to key in their PIN numbers will be provided with gloves.
He said it had a dedicated onsite team tasked with cleaning and sanitising its premises.
Customers will be required to put on face masks and can use sanitiser placed all over the premises.
Choo said it was, however, not anticipating a large crowd at the outlets, which would be opened from noon to 10pm.
He said it was encouraging people to stay at home as long as they could amid the Covid-19 pandemic and to heed the government’s call to remain indoors.
“The reason we are providing a dine-in service is that although we are flattening the curve, the cost to that is an increase in mental health issues, as reported in the press, such as depression, anxiety and arguments between family members.
“So we just want to provide an avenue for people to come out to get their space for a couple of hours and head back home, safe and sound,” he said, adding that self-pickup and delivery services were available.
Another restaurateur prepping to reopen is Remus Chong, 40, who operates Ginger Roots Restaurant in Taman Overseas Union.
Over the past two days, Chong has been overseeing the preparations at his restaurant to ensure it has the SOP in place.
“We are reopening tomorrow (today) and we are prepared. However, we are not so optimistic about customers coming in to dine just yet. There could be none in the first or two days.
“It may take two weeks before we see a good crowd as people will want to stick to deliveries at this point.”
Chong, who runs two other restaurants, Little Jakarta and Big Baba, decided to cut costs during the MCO by offering dishes from two menus while operating from one kitchen.
It receives the majority of orders from its social media platforms and does its own deliveries.
There are restaurant owners who have decided against reopening their businesses for dine-in customers.
Victor Low, who owns two Baba Low outlets in Bangsar and Anak Baba in Brickfields, said he felt that the time was not right just yet and he would monitor the developments on the pandemic.
“I am adopting a wait-and-see approach. This is because I want to keep everyone, including my workers, safe. I also want to gauge the market reception before reopening my restaurants.
“But we are getting ready and I want to put in place my own rulings, too, such as limiting 10 customers to a restaurant, restricting point of entry, placing physical barriers and only one person to a table.”
Low said there was a possibility that he would allow customers at the outlets closer to towns to reopen first before the MCO ended on May 12.