Not all withstood the test of the pandemic: previously popular bars and restaurants in Kaunas are closing

Bankruptcy of a prestigious restaurant

Perhaps the most unexpected change is the prestigious one, in the old 17th century. In the basement of the restaurant “Senieji rūsiai” located on Vilniaus street, in the place of the sign, a new name and a completely new type of inn. White tablecloths, elegant names and combinations of dishes, elegant service from restaurant waiters are a thing of the past. After the quarantine in place of the “Old Wineries” – a menu of snacks and drinks focused on a young audience and a place of a completely new concept.

The menu and description of the old restaurant can still be found on the official website of the old restaurant, but all the phones listed in the contacts are off. The restaurant’s Facebook profile already includes a new name with a hyphen. According to representatives of the old town community, who did not want to introduce themselves, there are rumors that the old restaurant has been declared bankrupt.

The hive won’t open anytime soon

Another high-class catering establishment located in the old town of Kaunas, famous even for its own beer, Avilys, is not in operation. After contacting the restaurant manager Jurgita Nore, it turns out that there is no drama here, Avilys from Kaunas will invite you to visit the guests again after the renovation.

“After the quarantine, we decided not to reopen it, because it was clear that the summer would be very difficult without foreigners and commercial clients. If you want to maintain a high level, you have to have a flow of people, because otherwise you will not be able to produce from fresh, high-quality products, or you will lose them permanently ”, says J. Norė.

According to the manager, the opening of Avilis was also hampered by the reconstruction of Vilniaus Street, which will begin in the autumn.

“This will be an opportunity for renewal and for us, we plan to reopen Avilis in the year Kaunas – European Capital of Culture, that is, in 2022. We hope that the global coronavirus pandemic ends and the reconstruction of Vilniaus street is completed”, says J. Norė.

According to J. Norė, “Avilis” is lucky that it is not necessary to rent the premises, because it belongs to them, so they do not have to work to survive.

“It is very different for those institutions that have to pay the rent, so there is no other option, or they have to transfer the space to others or they choose to work as they are,” he says.

Summer was difficult

And the conditions are not out of the ordinary. All catering establishments were particularly affected by the decrease in the flow of foreigners, which was not helped by individual tourists from the Baltic countries. According to the interviewee Vilniaus st. restaurant, customers were less than usual in the summer and purchasing power also decreased.

“Now people tend to save, they spend much less money. The majority come to socialize, not to eat, ”says J. Norė.

The woman also makes no secret of plans to temporarily shut down another popular old-town bar run by her company, which has been operating successfully in front of Avilis for many years, YZYbar.

“The weather will be cool, there will be no terrace, the restrictions introduced by COVID-19 have significantly reduced the number of seats and the ongoing reconstruction will further limit the flow of customers, so it will not be rational to work. Therefore, we will go on vacation ”, says the head of YZYbar.

More optimistic

We traveled down Vilniaus Street towards the town hall, on the way we visited the entrance of the Lithuanian pub and spoke with the owner of this popular pub, Nerijus Paškevičius. The man is glad that after the quarantine “Entrance” was opened in Vilniaus Street, probably one of the first and he intends to continue his activities.

“We have been in this business for a long time, we have already gone through two crises, we will also endure it”, the man does not lose optimism.

According to N. Paškevičius, they have so far managed not only to retain all employees, but also to open a new catering establishment on Vienybės square, which received an influx of visitors quite quickly.

“It just came to our knowledge then. We hope to continue working, we have regular customers whose habits have not changed due to the coronavirus, we are very happy and we appreciate their loyalty, because it allows us to wait for better times and not disappoint the quality cartel due to the difficult situation economic ”, says N. Paškevičius.

The man positively evaluates the measures introduced by the state: tax deferral, rent subsidy, employee compensation for downtime. According to him, for the future of the restaurant business, at least for the moment the most useful would be rental subsidies, especially after the New Year, when there will be a sharp drop in customers in January and February.

J. Norė, director of the company that operates two institutions on Vilniaus Street, does not hide that she expects favorable solutions from the state and municipal authorities for local businesses. According to her, the city council could make a decision and at least reduce the property tax, which is certainly high enough, especially if the institution cannot operate for objective reasons.

“The reconstruction of the main pedestrian street where we are located is one of them”, J. Norė is convinced.

Some have gone, some have changed

Two other wealthiest and most food-savvy customer-focused spots in Kaunas Old Town are the Ieti Restaurant on City Hall Square, owned and run by Inga Turminienė, who is one of the top 16 cooks in the world, and the Little Numan restaurant on Nemunas street. .

Unfortunately, it must be said that Ieti, who has been following Kaunas gourmet fairy tale for 5 years and has been among the best Lithuanian restaurants more than once, is no longer in Kaunas. As I. Turminienė herself confirmed to the portal, due to the quarantine introduced and the orientation to foreign tourists, they simply could no longer survive, because the owners did not agree to reduce or defer rents.

“Now I look at the situation calmly, I think it happened as it should have happened. Maybe we don’t really need each other in Kaunas, “says the woman.

So far, he does not want to talk about new activities, he only admits that current activities are related to catering consulting.

“I have experience, maybe it will help someone not to make mistakes that I made myself”, smiles Mrs. Inga.

In the end, slightly better news from Numan. This restaurant did not operate for the entire summer after quarantine and rumors have already been heard that it will not open anyway. However, contacting the restaurant’s former managers revealed that they had managed to reach a consensus with the team that would continue to work here, which will continue to operate the restaurant under the previous name but will change the concept of the restaurant.

Earlier this week, the restaurant named “Grill London” on Vilniaus Street, which has come into the spotlight of law enforcement, was closed. In a private message on the community page, representatives sent a response that the renovated Grill London plans to open its doors in the old town in 2021, but in a different location.