Chefs & Food Entrepreneurs Share The Effect Of The Lockdown On Their Businesses
It goes without saying that the hospitality industry is one of the sectors worst hit by the current pandemic. Right before the initial lockdown was established, we spoke to owners of upscale restaurants, in a bid to understand the strategy for the coming weeks/months. To this, the response for most restaurants was to pivot to delivery, with upscale spots like Talindo, offering takeout service for the first time ever.
With almost a month into lockdown, things have obviously changed, as restaurants have begun to settle into the new routine. In spite of this, the rising number of reported cases only further demonstrates the reality that life as we know it will not remain the same until the end of the pandemic.
A direct effect of the pandemic and resulting lockdown is a big hit to the global economy and stock market as a whole. In spite of this, western countries with stronger economies have distributed palliatives to their citizens to incentivise the lockdown, because people gotta eat. On these Nigerians streets, it goes without saying that this system cannot work not only because of the lacking systems but the country is hella broke. So, the president’s polarising decision to ‘relax the lockdown’ didn’t necessarily come as a surprise too many.
Once again, we reached out to restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs in Lagos and Abuja, to understand the impact of the pandemic on their business in April 2020. Here’s what they had to say.
“We Had 0% Revenue In The 1st Week” - Joey, Keje Grills, Abuja
By the first week of lockdown, there was a drop in revenue to zero. With slight adaptations, revenue picked up a little bit by the second week and we cut staff strength cut by at least 60% temporarily pending lockdown lift Another effect is that we had to stall the earlier scheduled launch of new signature cocktails and chicken sauces. This also affected the importation of certain items for an infrastructural upgrade.
“Our Delivery Business Has Been Good” - Quacktails, Lagos
The lockdown literally forced us to start up a delivery service, not because we were geniuses and not because we had the foresight of where food and drink industry was going, but mainly because our sober friends who relied on the free booze at ours did not let us rest. We are not going to lie, the delivery business has been good and taken on a life of its own. It has been a bit weird from an operational standpoint because the way we procure, the way we package, and the way we deliver our service has changed. We do not have the full complement of a regular market to pick and choose our fruits. We also can’t engage our staff to help ease the burden of the 100s of orders we receive daily.
“ I Had To Close My Business”- Chopped Bistro, Abuja
Every restaurant owner now is going through one difficulty or another. In my own case, my business has been closed for four weeks because it was difficult for my staff to come to work. Initially, they were harassed daily even after presenting a means of identification, and sometimes they had to trek to work. I felt was unfair to them to go through all these while I stayed safe at home with my family.
Moreover, the price of fresh produce in the market everything is triple and you can’t increase your prices because that will be like you also trying to rob people in spite of the situation. In my own case, we purchase fresh ingredients daily, and this would’ve been difficult due to the lockdown. There was also a bottleneck in the delivery of meals mainly because the available logistics companies currently serve all the open restaurants in Abuja
It’s a collection of so many difficulties to run a smooth operation these days and since your staff depend on you to feed their family, how do you begin to explain why you can’t pay them in these uncertain times?
“We’ve Been Forced To Innovate“- Chef Nkesi Enyioha, Lagos
With the outbreak Covid-19, the hospitality scene has suffered a great deal and we now need to rethink the very core of our business. A number of people may not be aware, but the hospitality industry is one of the top 5 employers in Lagos state. With this devastating pandemic, we have suffered massive job loss and for those of us still open for takeout and delivery, our revenue has drastically reduced and we are only able to pull in about 10% of our usual revenue.
We have been forced, in a bid to remain in business, to come up with forward-thinking and innovative ways of providing services to cater to and satisfy consumers. That being said, I would rather adopt the attitude of “ identifying the advantages of the new normal”. This is a perspective that is very hard to maintain in the midst of all the mortalities and financial losses. However, I feel it is what I need to move forward.
Finally, I would also like to add that this is the time we need the state government the most. The hospitality industry has contributed tremendously to the state’s finances by way of taxes and not to mention employment. The government must absolutely help to save this beautiful industry. We can only pray we are given the insight we need to keep our businesses afloat in these tough times.
“We Halted Our Delivery Service For Safety Reasons”, Faji Steakhouse, Abuja
We actually started doing delivery pre-lockdown once we learned the virus had spread to Abuja and social distancing was being recommended. However, we stopped on the first week of lockdown because besides the fact that it wasn’t fiscally worth it for us (delivery for fine dining isn’t as requested as fast food), it was also cumbersome keeping our staff protected enough to get to the restaurant. The rules are significantly stricter in Abuja, I believe and most of our staff live on the outskirts of town. Safety had to become a priority. We prided ourselves in creating an experience and the dining being taken out of it made it just basic food.
Editor’s note: Responses were edited for clarity and length.
Edit: Article was edited to include a response from Anabelle Giwa-Amu, who manages Faji Steakhouse, Abuja. A prrevious version omitted a response from Faji Steakhouse, Abuja.