WILLEMSTAD - The Curaçao Restaurant Association (CRA) disagrees with the government to allow only delivery for restaurants and not a takeaway. Restaurants understand the stricter measures but after months of disproportionately hard hit by several measures, the government has again made a choice that is bad for their business.
CRA fears more bankruptcies.
The government announced tougher measures on March 22 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, 'Plachi di dia' has been in force, whereby people are allowed to take to the streets two days a week based on the letter on their license plate, and all shops and catering establishments have been closed. Since then, restaurants are only allowed to deliver food.
The CRA is surprised that after all the attempts the association has made to increase sales opportunities, restaurants are still only allowed to do delivery and no takeaway. In the meantime, food can be collected from supermarkets.
Delivery entails extra costs, which means that there is hardly any margin left for restaurants and, in addition, customers are generally not willing to pay extra for delivery service. Unlike the previous lockdown, no pardon is now granted by banks, landlords, or Aqualectra, according to CRA.
“The competition for delivery is also fierce. Truk’i pan (BBQ stands) offer cheap food, food is delivered from home without any hygiene checks and supermarkets do offer takeaway options. That is not only competition but also "unfair competition". What is left for restaurants is not enough to cover all the costs of keeping the kitchen open,” says CRA.
There is a lot of enthusiasm for takeaway, according to CRA. In addition, there is minimal contact between restaurant and customer, even less than with delivery. Picking up from a restaurant on the days of their "Plachi di dia" gives people confidence and the restaurant owner is assured of income.
Another option is drive-thru at the existing fast-food restaurants. CRA: “That is precisely the moment to prevent people from being in a crowded supermarket, or to allow people on their way to their vital profession to get something to eat quickly. A missed opportunity and thus lost turnover for the sector. It is strange that these businesses were the first to be opened after the lockdown last year.”
The CRA thinks that consultation with the sector beforehand could have resulted in a better decision by the crisis team. The safe options of takeaway and drive-thru could have relieved the now overcrowded supermarkets and without danger give people more of a sense of the much-desired freedom.
The CRA is calling on the government to consider these options. Because of the sector and because of many restaurants that finally got some relief after the corona year 2020 and are now again confronted with unnecessary restrictions.