“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual.” – Aristotle, Greek philosopher
One of the key facets of society is human interaction. And one of the best places for this in the markets and restaurants. When COVID struck, people stayed home and read and ordered food from restaurants that had now begun a business around takeaways. Several outlets went that route to survive. Over a period of time however people began to get bored and looked at options where they could go out and eat. Staying at home was fine for a while but stepping out and meeting friends in a restaurant exchanging ideas and eating food was something else.
For many restaurateurs and home chefs it has been a very interesting time. There is a market out there hungry for food but also in economic strife because salaries have been slashed and jobs have been lost. Vasco Alvares a popular home chef said “When I started my takeaways, it was good, everyone ordered because it was new but over a period of time it dropped. I then decided to offer something different every week. It is a very competitive market and I believe it will stay like this for next year and a half or two. People I believe still prefer to eat in because anyway you look at it when compared to eating in a restaurant it is still cheaper”. Pricing and quality was very important, he said and it was possible to build a bank of satisfied customers who would think of you first when they wanted to order in.
Chef Sanchit Behl and Chef Maia Laifungban had a different take on the situation. Sanchit said “We organize private events that are open to the public but we do a maximum of 25 covers on weekends. Recently we had an event with a specially curated menu. Those interested have to RSVP two days before the event. We had to send people away because we were full. I think people have stopped caring about the virus and want to step out. I see a lot more older folk out. There are young couples coming with their children”. He however added that he was answering calls from people expressing their fear and preferring to order food at home. He ended by saying things had improved dramatically from the time two months ago when they were in shambles.
Another restaurateur, Gavin Valladares said people were looking to dine out in a safe environment but now he was focused on his takeaway business. He intended to start the restaurant in October when the situation would get better hopefully.
Nadia Aguiar is a baker from home forced to do this after her place of employment, a five star property stopped operations due to the virus. She said “People are fed up with staying at home but they are also scared of the virus. The market situation is somewhere in the middle. There are those who are scared and order from home and then there is also a segment who would like to go out and visit any restaurant that is open. Local outlets buy my produce because there is a demand and it is increasing which means there is quite a percentage that prefers to eat in”. Francis Gomes said families were avoiding coming over to his outlet with most of his business coming from individuals conducting business meetings. He said “We are following all the sops and I strongly believe we will bounce back by October when borders open. I am confident business will return”.
Another restaurateur who exuded confidence was Siddharth Savkur who recently opened a restaurant and cafe in Margao. He said “We started home deliveries but with eco-friendly packaging. About two weeks ago we started the dining services. We saw families come with friends. To reassure them we kept the tables seven feet apart and in fact on Independence Day, we had to turn away guests because we wanted to ensure there was proper social distancing being maintained”. People he said were social animals and would like to step out and meet friends. The market he felt would improve given time and patience.
Abhinav Atrey Sales Manager of a five-star restaurant in Panjim said the business was certainly picking up as compared to two months ago. He said “Then it was home deliveries by in house staff and professional services which are still growing but now there are people coming in to dine at the restaurant. The numbers are there but it is still low. We can maintain all the sops as required by the government and I feel the numbers will keep increasing slowly over a period of time”
Chef Avinash Martins said he had reopened his restaurant on August 15, prior to that he had focused on takeaways and home deliveries. He said “People are scared and fear the virus. The sense of panic is destroying the people and the economy. However, I can say that people are slowly coming out and we are taking all the precautions. The situation is slowly moving towards normalcy. We have to accept that the virus will be there and take the necessary precautions. How long can you not have a normal life?”
Sowyma Jagannath of another popular restaurant in North Goa, patronised mainly by those from outside Goa said they were doing takeaways but there were people who were allowed to come and sit and eat in very limited numbers? She said “Every day we answer four to five calls enquiring as to when we intend to open”
Perhaps it can be safely said that there is a segment of the population that prefers to stay home and dine but there is also another segment frustrated with the situation and hoping to step out given the opportunity. Time perhaps is the best cure and will ensure the market recovers.
