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The decision to allow outdoor cafes to open more than a week ago has pleased many entrepreneurs working in the sector. However, you can only work if you meet certain requirements.
Tables must be at least two meters apart and no more than two people can sit next to each other, unless they come from the same farm. Working hours are also limited: it is possible to work from 7 am to 9 pm.
Following these requirements, several familiar faces joined the group of entrepreneurs who seized the opportunity: the Gypsy Lounge & Grill restaurant opened last year. Ištvanas Kvikas, The founders of Waffle House Laura Y Šarūnas Mazalai.
Still, not everyone dared to open up. Here is the restaurant “Amandus” Deivydas praspaliauskas He remains skeptical on the subject until now, and has decided to wait for better times. In his opinion, complying with these restrictions will be too difficult.
The opening atmosphere is reminiscent of a holiday.
Just before opening I. Kviko The team had a sleepless night: it was necessary to update not only the menu, but also the atmosphere of the restaurant. In no time, everything was extremely fast, just to meet the requirements. However 15 minutes spoken by Istvan, he realizes that it is not so easy to follow the distance limitation in Vilnius Old Town.
“All our team came to work, we fixed all the distances according to the requirements. We have an open terrace in the courtyard, but it is still difficult, because there is not enough space in the Old Town to place all the tables, ”said Istvananas.
Photo by Marius Vizbaras / István Kvikas
The interlocutor also regretted that the weather for the first days of the inauguration was not the best, but at least he was glad to have received a work permit. Although in the past the authorities have not changed due to restrictions, they are aware that the bans were introduced for security reasons.
“Business is business, but people’s lives come first. And my opinion here will probably never change. What is the government trying to do about it? To help them, not to ruin their business. People need to be more understanding, ”he said.
When asked if he has already noticed a large flow of people in his restaurant, I.Quik admits that he has not received many reservations yet and that only regulars who arrive for lunch appear on the terrace. However, Istvan is not upset about it; says, it is necessary to understand that the fear of the virus does not disappear for people in an instant, so not everyone is full of desire to visit restaurants.
“Some people have called to request banquets, but we cannot offer that opportunity at the moment. And there are no simple reservations because people think and are also afraid. It has only been the first day, which is difficult to say due to the situation. .
But the mood itself is reminiscent of a celebration. Seems Crown In the past, people are happier when they are all together. But I will emphasize again: business is business, somehow we will survive, “he said.
I.Kvikas does not hide that the recent period has been particularly difficult for the restaurant. Initially it had 14 employees, eventually some of them went to work elsewhere. The situation also crossed financially.
“We worked at a loss last year because the number of people was limited. Our restaurant has a small and constant turnover when people come to sit down, bang. And we work with a very small margin, and those monetary matters weren’t like that either. happy“Istvan revealed.
However, it does not yet intend to hire new staff. The man thinks that the best thing now is to wait.
“It just came to our attention then. We will wait for the restaurant to be able to function at full capacity. And so far we have faced a certain challenge because it is as if both have opened and not opened. But I am still glad that while the summer terrace is open ” 15 minutes I. Quik spoke.
Expect to make up for the period of losses
Waffle House Owner Š.Mazalas started Thursday morning with a double humor. Just before the inauguration, there were preparations that reminded him a bit of nostalgic times, when it was customary to walk around, accept people, make reservations. Still, the weather changed those moods.
“It just came to our notice then. And that weather is not very good. And it will not be good in the next few days, so we don’t expect a lot of traffic in the near future,” he said.
There was no need to hire more people to prepare the opening, because not only he, but also the people who supervise the “town of Ogmios”, where the restaurant is located, help to organize.
“Now it would be too fancy to find additional hands that can tidy up and prepare the outdoor deck for activities.
After all, those last few months have been negative. We live in the hope that this summer there will be more traffic than usual. We hope that the summer months will buy back all the disadvantages we have experienced ”, hopes S. Mazalas.
Photo from “Waffle House” / Laura and Šarūnas Mazalai
And the safety requirements for Šarūnas are not new, half a year ago the restaurant operated under similar conditions. Still, the man had a question about how to control these restrictions: who will oversee the order? He says he understands some of his fellow entrepreneurs, who find it more difficult to follow the rules.
“Some of the requirements seem difficult to implement, not about us, but about the old town, because there are small spaces and people have to sit every two meters, it is a dark forest here for me that I do not understand. Therefore, I hope understanding, because not everything that is written in the requirements is possible to implement.
However, we take all the necessary security measures and hope that there are no problems. We have survived well, we have survived and we have not caught anyone before, so I hope everything goes well now too, ”he hopes.
This is how the first day happened. The restaurant does not have more than a dozen tables, so a few days ago the whole atmosphere was ordered, and now he and his wife, Laura, are waiting for visitors, which unfortunately there were not many at least the first day. .
“The weather in the first half of the day was not pleasant to sit outside, so I wouldn’t really say the flow was very high,” admitted Mazalas.
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Consider the constraints too complicated
Unlike many outdoor cafes, D.Praspaliauskas decided not to open the Amandus restaurant. As the man said, this decision was made out of respect for the neighbors, since the built terrace would be strongly adjacent to their territory.
“I want to maintain good relations, so we decided to wait to be able to invite visitors to dinner at the restaurant,” said D. Paspaliauskas.
The chef is a bit pessimistic about the changed restrictions. He hopes entrepreneurs will take care of the rules, but he doesn’t hide the fact that the flows of people seen in the city gave him a completely different image.
“There are more people sitting at the tables than there should be. I see that it will be very difficult. Of course, we are going to open it, because everyone requires it, but now the rules are such that you walk down the street without a mask and inside with mask. It will be difficult to understand, but I want everyone to take care of that, “he said.
When asked when he thought his restaurant might open, David was in no rush to guess.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min photo / Deivydas Praspaliauskas
“It is very difficult to say how we will all do it here with the disease cases, the vaccines. I don’t usually drop my hands that will never happen that way. Of course, I would very much like that to happen in the summer, at least until July. ” 15 minutes D.Praspaliauskas spoke.
The chef’s desire to return to the market is reinforced by the crisis he went through, which caused great losses in the restaurant. The interlocutor reveals that almost the entire team has changed significantly, the location has also changed, so the number of seats has decreased in an instant.
“We didn’t know what to expect, it was hard to accept the fact that most of the colleagues were depressed. A very difficult situation, we learn what it is, we try to adapt.
It was very painful for the sums of money, but I don’t know if something could have been different. It just got to the point that it happened. Of course, we were already in a different mood during the second wave, so with the support of our guests and the possibility of reserving a house, we managed to stay, ”said David, hoping to open the restaurant door soon.
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