News
Restaurant workers, operators back to square one
Curfews in the Gampaha district and busy areas of Colombo city, have forced hundreds of small eateries to temporarily close down, while diners are keeping away from restaurants.
Small shops including eateries closed in Pettah. Pic by Priyanka Samaraweera
Despite assurances by public health officials, restaurant operators complain the fear of dining out has dealt a second blow and livelihoods are at stake.
The president of Colombo City Restaurant Collective (CCRC) Harpo Gooneratne, told the Sunday Times, that thousands employed directly and indirectly in the industry will struggle.
“People are afraid to step outside. Restaurants big or small, casual, or fine dining, all are having a hard time. There are loans that need to be paid, salaries to be paid. Without foreign and local customers coming to restaurants, our industry will face another grave period,’’ he said.
Louzanne Perera, head of marketing and communications at Food Studio, said shutting down of cinemas has had a domino effect on food courts.
“A major attraction to our malls are cinema halls. Now that cinema halls are closed we are seeing a low turnout at our food outlets. However, we ensure daily sanitising of the food courts, [body] temperature checks, sanitising of hands and shoes before entering the premises, wearing hair nets, masks and gloves throughout the day, sanitisers on all counter tops and so on,” she said.
She said employees coming from virus affected areas are sent on leave as a precaution.
Colombo’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ruwan Wijeyamuni, said guidance on hand washing, wearing of masks/ face shields, and maintaining the distance between customers, have been given to restaurants and eateries and subjected to monitoring by area medical officers of health and public health inspectors.
“The restaurant industry will be affected due to certain limitations. But this is will benefit both the restaurants and customers. Even if one employee tests positive, we will have to close down the entire restaurant, do PCR tests on other employees and put them in quarantine,” he said.
According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, the Colombo district has 270 registered restaurants.
Those who work in Colombo and depend on small eateries and food outlets are stung by the unavailability of cooked meals.
The Manning market in the Pettah and the fish market in Peliyagoda are closed due to hundreds of infections.
There are few office workers in the city and eateries have temporarily closed.
For Nadun, who works in Bambalapitiya, Colombo 4, but stays in a lodging in Maharagama, it is not easy to find a lunch packet.
“The small shops are closed, the ‘buth kades’ [eateries] are closed. Some days, I had to eat snacks for lunch,’’ he said.
After a food vendor from Hendala was infected with the virus from a customer who came to purchase lunch packets, fears among those selling food packets has intensified.
Few are buying and there is less supply, a vendor said. “The main markets are closed and buying vegetables at a cheaper price will not be possible. They won’t take a risk, when there are no people in the city to buy [lunch],” he said.