Restaurants in Hanoi are lonely when the number of F0 keeps increasing

Restaurants serving food are empty

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the number of COVID-19 cases in Hanoi is always at the top of the country with tens of thousands of cases per day. The amount of F0 in the community has increased rapidly and continuously peaked in recent days, directly affecting business and trading activities.

Reporters’ records show that, at noon rush hour or on weekends, many restaurants in the city center and districts in the area are in a gloomy state, empty of customers, in some places Not even a guest.

Some restaurants at Dinh Liet, Cau Go, Thai Thinh, and Quan Thanh were sluggish and empty of customers.

Ms. Ha, a restaurant owner in Khuong Dinh (Thanh Xuan), said that the number of customers coming to the restaurant is decreasing day by day. In the past, it was possible to sell 200 bowls of vermicelli in a morning, sometimes it was sold out by 10am, but now it has decreased a lot. “In the face of complicated developments of the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of F0 in Hanoi has increased. Customers are afraid that eating out will get infected, people who have been infected are afraid of returning, so the restaurant does not do much. The number of customers. down 30% – 40% compared to before. Fortunately, the gap in front of my shop was linked to the fast delivery e-commerce site, so many people also ordered there, some people came to the store. buy food to eat on time,” Ha shared.

Compared to restaurants, drink shops and cafes, there are more customers but not much. According to the reporter’s observation, on the weekends, at the coffee shops, there are sporadic customers coming in and drinking directly at the shop, while the number of customers buying and taking home is more.

The coffee shops are deserted, only a few customers visit.

Ms. Thuy, an employee of a coffee shop in Nguyen Quy Duc (Thanh Xuan) said: “In the past, on weekends, my shop was usually full of seats, the number of people going in and out was busy. Even the customers were busy. weekday, it’s still crowded, but about 2 weeks ago, the number of customers has decreased. There are also few commercial sites, although the shop has many incentives for customers to buy and take away (buy 1 drink, get 1 cake) but it’s not much better.

Image of the cafe where Ms. Thuy works, the number of customers has decreased and is no longer as busy as before.

Prices are escalating, many restaurant owners only dare to raise prices slightly

When the price of gasoline increased to nearly 30,000 VND/liter, it marked a record price increase of this item so far. In fact, the cost of gas and food ingredients (vegetables, meat, dry goods) also increased at the same time, putting great pressure on consumers’ spending, and at the same time increasing the burden on manufacturing enterprises. , food service business households, especially during the recovery period after a long time of social distancing.

Ms. Hoa, a restaurant owner in Thai Thinh (Dong Da), said that due to the complicated epidemic situation, the price of imported ingredients for food increased, her restaurant also had to adjust the price of each serving. A full meal (including 1 regular cake, 1 poached egg) is currently priced at 40,000 VND/serving, chicken is 80,000 VND/serving, each dish at her restaurant has increased slightly from 3,000-5,000 VND.

Hoa’s restaurant with the number of empty customers, mainly serves customers to buy and take away.

“I really don’t want to change the selling price, but the situation has forced me to do so. Now the price of imported food has also increased: chicken, rice, gas, eggs, … everything has increased in price. Me and My husband also wondered if he only dared to increase slightly each meal, but the COVID-19 epidemic was empty, but the price of food increased, then all customers were lost,” Hoa shared.

After 6 consecutive price adjustments, gasoline prices are at a record high. Similarly, the price of gas, dry food ingredients, and food prices have also skyrocketed, leading to increased transportation costs that are disturbing people’s lives.

The bleak sales situation inversely proportional to the rising capital of input materials is putting many restaurant owners in Hanoi under great pressure, as they have to find a way to avoid falling into loss and loss of customers.

Ms. Binh, a restaurant owner in Cau Go (Hoan Kiem), sadly confided: “The situation of COVID-19 epidemic is complicated, the number of customers has also decreased significantly. Before there were tourists, the shop was very crowded. Now, the travel of tourists is limited, so the number of visitors has decreased by 50%, leaving only regular customers.”

Image of Ms. Binh’s restaurant with mainly patrons coming to eat. During the past 3 years, the restaurant has always complied with all the city’s epidemic prevention regulations.

Ms. Binh added that the price of food ingredients increased rapidly according to the price of gasoline, making her unable to keep up. Now, the number of customers coming to the restaurant is only regular customers, so she does not dare to increase the price for fear of losing customers. The shop also serves orders through the app and take away, the number of customers is better.

The epidemic is complicated, raw materials increase rapidly, business households want the government to take measures to reduce F0 in the community, gasoline and raw materials prices will also return to their old prices so that people can return to normal life soon. , improve business.

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