Photo taken on April 13, 2021 shows a coastal restaurant with few guests in Beirut, Lebanon. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
BEIRUT, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese restaurant sector, best known for its delicious food and generosity, is on the verge of meltdown under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lasting economic crisis.
An estimated 4,300 restaurants and cafes out of a total of 8,500 closed between Oct. 17, 2019, the beginning of the current uprising in Lebanon, and December 2020, according to Tony al-Rami, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs and Pastries.
"The uprising, along with the following economic crisis, coronavirus and Beirut port's blasts, has dealt a deadly blow to restaurants all over the country," al-Rami told Xinhua.
He noted that 2,069 restaurants were partially or completely destroyed by the blasts that ripped through the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, killing at least 200 people, injuring around 6,000 others and devastating a huge area of the Lebanese capital.
Meanwhile, the lockdowns imposed by the Lebanese authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 resulted in the bankruptcy of hundreds of restaurant owners, who have continued to cover expenses without generating any revenues, al-Rami said.
Lebanon has been going through its worst economic and financial crisis amid a shortage of U.S. dollars and the collapse of the local currency.
In addition, banks have imposed unofficial capital control on people's access to their U.S. dollar deposits while restricting withdrawals from accounts in Lebanese pounds.
"All of these factors kept the majority of the population from visiting restaurants as it has become a luxury that only five percent of the Lebanese can afford," al-Rami explained.
Restaurant managers interviewed by Xinhua complained about the slump in business, urging authorities to restore political and economic stability to support their survival.
"We've lost about 70 percent of our customers. Today most of our visitors are either Lebanese expatriates or foreigners who work in international companies in Lebanon," said Ihab Ayoub, manager at Bayrock Cafe, one of the country's most popular cafes.
Ayoub explained that local customers can no longer afford a meal in restaurants as their salaries have lost more than 80 percent in value after the collapse of the local currency.
"Our weekly clients are now visiting monthly," Michel Abi Mansour, outlet manager at Cozmo restaurant in Achrafieh, one of the oldest district of Beirut, told Xinhua.
The young manager noted that the purchase of ingredients in U.S. dollar prompted restaurant owners to hike prices.
"Our prices rose by at least 30 percent, so only a few people can afford now," he said.
Restaurant managers also reported a mass layoff of employees in the hope of sustaining their operations.
Al-Rami told Xinhua that an estimated 110,000 out of the total 160,000 restaurant employees in Lebanon were laid off, while the remaining 50,000 work part-time.
He called for political stability in Lebanon, noting this is very essential to hold back the growing trend of restaurants' owners leaving the country to the Gulf and Egypt. Enditem
