They dot the landscape. Every main road of cities and towns in the state has them. And yes they are present at every other turn in the villages. It is a place where Goans both young and old come and chew the fat so to speak. The hole in the wall restaurants and bars are a constant all over the state. However the Covid virus has touched the world. Lives have been lost; businesses either shut down or changed by the dynamics of the market. These outlets have been at the receiving end of the economic downturn. Jobs were lost en masse and those who still had a job had their salaries reduced. It was really tough.
Many of these outlets are an integral part of the community. Bombil is a restaurant in Panjim that has carved its niche in the tough and very competitive restaurant business. Joseph Dias the owner of the outlet said when business was shut in 2020 and then started again, it was like restarting the business, fighting for customers, it was a new business again. He said “We faced challenges but then everyone did. Since we are small players, we totally depend on volumes. In 2020, we had worked hard and were looking good at the end but when 2021 happened, it was a major shake- up in all ways. Staff left, there was a fear and it took us two months. Now having restarted, we have only 12 covers, but we have had to increase the cost of each plate. Things are slowly improving. We are prepared for anything now”. He said take-ways was not a part of the business plan because the services that provided this service demanded huge margins which did not work for the business. He said “Whoever comes here for a take-away comes and takes their parcel and leaves. That’s it. The competition is intense with many houses now having started providing homemade food”. He however felt that he would hang in there and fight for business.
Frederick D’souza who runs Bhatti Village Family Bar & Restaurant in Bhatti Waddo, Nerul said business had already started fifteen days earlier. There was however a 20 percent drop in business in his estimation. He said “I get domestic tourists on weekends and now with Sharavan on, many are not eating non veg or consuming alcohol. We get our regular customers visiting us but it is tough. We have had to increase the prices to cover all the costs. We are ok but business has to improve soon for sure.”
The Himalaya Bar And Restaurant has been around for quite a while in Candolim. Sarita Rai who is now running the business along with her family said business was not good. She said “It is very slow at the moment. We have locals and sometimes tourists who come to our outlet. We get orders for takeaways and we have tied up with Swiggy. But their margins are high. Last weekend was ok. Monday has been very poor”. She was forced to let go of her staff and now has her family helping out. She said” I can’t afford to keep the staff and even if the situation improves, they don’t want to return.”
For Neville Proenco of Pousada by the Beach in Calangute, business was picking up thanks to the domestic tourists who were coming over the weekend. During the week he said locals were visiting his outlet.
Nathaniel D Costa of Hideaway Café and Bar in Vagator said the lockdown had been brutal for him and others in the business. He said ”In August it really picked up. February to July was good. Once we saw the lockdown coming, we planned in advance. We reworked our menu and our space, it was what we had to do. We also let off two of our staff and reduced salaries. It is tough but it is improving.”
Sadanand at See You bar and restaurant in Nerul was blunt when he said business was really bad. He said “There has been no improvement and I expect this to continue for a while. No one has money or is willing to come and out and spend. I have a staff of two and I am finding it difficult to cover their cost. I don’t know how long I can continue like this. The sentiment has to improve otherwise we are all going to be in big trouble”.
At another outlet in Provorim, a staff member of a small bar and restaurant said business was really bad because no one seemed to want to spend and with domestic tourists still not coming in large numbers they were all short on business.
That seems to be the common recurring theme amongst the business owners. Some improvement but still not good enough and the situation they all felt had to improve dramatically, whether they were in a town or in a village.
