Restaurateurs of the Orenburg region are looking for new forms of work during the period of self-isolation

In conditions of quarantine and self-isolation, restaurants and cafes of the Orenburg region are looking for new forms of work with customers. The chairman of the regional Federation of restaurateurs and hoteliers Alexei Marinin called on his colleagues to unite in order to jointly rebuild the industry.

A well-known entrepreneur in the region shared his experience of survival in the new economic realities during a live broadcast from the cycle "Economy without a Virus", which he launched for businessmen on his page in Instagram Orenburg Region Development Corporation. 

Answering the question of the general director of the corporation Ignat Petukhov about the challenges faced by the catering industry during the pandemic and related restrictions, Alexey Marinin admitted that this industry was among the most affected.

“The precautions taken by the authorities are clear: restaurants and cafes are places where people gather in large numbers,” the businessman said. - Such institutions were among the first to be closed and how long the quarantine will last is still unknown. Now they are all suffering big losses. In order to be able to pay people a salary, I refocused on delivery. In one dumplings organized takeaway cooking. Until now, these services have not been popular, but now people are reconsidering their habits. We are trying to establish sales. For delivery we use a courier service that cooperates with us, - these services are inexpensive. Aggregators charge restaurants quite high percentages. True, one of the well-known services has significantly reduced the fee for those who connected after March 15. However, for those who have worked with this aggregator before, the discount does not apply - although this, of course, is absurd. 

As RG already wrote, a whole range of measures has been taken to support entrepreneurs during the period of self-isolation in the Orenburg region. In particular, it will be possible to significantly save on the rental of municipal real estate: for three months - from March to May - a reduction factor of 0.01 will be applied. In addition, property tax for landlords has been reduced in the region. Accordingly, those who rent space from other businessmen can get a discount from their landlords for this amount.

Alexey Marinin noted that the issue of introducing rental vacations for the period of anti-epidemic measures is very relevant for owners of restaurants and cafes. At the same time, many owners of commercial real estate are forced to charge rent because they are under credit. The expert called on the authorities to get involved in solving this problem by organizing a dialogue between entrepreneurs and bankers.

Assessing the prospects for the development of the industry, the businessman assured that the restaurant business will recover, however, this will take time. 

- Now everyone has been "shaken" very much and the recovery will take a long time. I myself am going through the fifth crisis and I am calm about it. It is obvious to me that at first there will be a large outflow of visitors, and then they will return anyway, ”said Alexey Marinin. - The crisis is a good time to stop and reconsider your attitude to business in general. I want to, to restructure the industry. In previous years, I many times went out to colleagues with the initiative to unite — in order not only to provide each other with all possible assistance, but also to regulate the labor market in catering... It's no secret that most of the people involved in this sector are not officially employed. I guess, that, when we reopen after quarantine, many will change their minds.