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Although epidemiologists in Serbia marked cafes and restaurants as the places of greatest risk for the spread and transmission of the coronavirus, last weekend in Belgrade and other cities in Serbia did not show such a picture; in most cases it was impossible to find a free place.
Perhaps because many of them have fewer tables, so as not to create crowds and so that guests can keep their distance. On each table, next to the drinks menu, there is a gel to disinfect the hands.
Masks adorn the faces of waiters, while guests remove them as soon as they sit down at the table. Those who put it on their face when they go to the bathroom are rare.
Crisis staff has decided that all facilities, including those with gardens, will limit working hours to 11 p.m.
Authorities say they wrote more than 40 misdemeanor charges over the weekend for failing to comply with prescribed measures.
It was not specified whether the fines were written because the employees did not wear masks, because there were more than 30 people in the cafe, or because the doors for the guests were not closed at 11 p.m.
A coffee that “survives” out of spite
The “Maple Tree” or simply “Maple” cafe is one of those places where you return as if you were returning home.
Hidden in a garden near the Temple of Saint Sava, it is often a refuge for many.
The employees have long experience at this café, and the same could be said for those sitting on the other side of the bar.
The owner of “Javor”, Ivan Parmaković, has been in the restaurant industry for a long time and, as he himself says, he does not remember it being so difficult.
“This is mere survival,” Parmakovic told the BBC in Serbian.
The help that the state caterers received, which according to President Aleksandar Vučić was of “terrible importance to caterers, travel agencies and everyone else”, did not make the current situation much easier for employees of this branch. of the economy.
“I still have to pay the bar rent in full on time, as well as the drink fee I order,” explains Parmaković.
Constantly changing measures, decisions and recommendations is difficult for him, because all that, he says, affects the work.
“Let’s establish a working system, the state will introduce some new changes,” says Parmakovic.
Although the weather was good for them, the lack of guests is felt and the cafe does not work as before.
He considers that the reason is the attitude of the guests that “going out is not what it used to be”, that is, fear of the virus and returning home earlier.
“We survived this period out of spite, because we have regular guests, who are tied to the place and the people who work there,” says the owner of the Drvo Javorovo café.
According to data from the Republic Statistics Office in Serbia, 66,947 people are employed in catering.
This industry suffered a blow from the sanitary measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially during the first wave of contagion last spring, when, due to quarantine, cafes and restaurants were closed from March 21 to early May.
The state helped entrepreneurs and employees of micro, small and medium enterprises by providing them with financial assistance in July and August; he postponed paying taxes and contributions for a month and paid 60 percent of the minimum in July and August.
A few months later, the catering services of the Belgrade Association of Bars and Night Clubs came forward, inviting their colleagues to join in and spread their action so that they could schedule negotiations with the Serbian Government.
In addition to extending indoor and garden working hours, your application list also includes obtaining a permit for more people to stay indoors, reducing utility costs, renting public spaces, abolishing of criminal policy, the reduction of VAT on food and beverages.
During the isolation of last spring, when both cafes and restaurants were closed, many wrote on social media that they were simply missing a coffee or a drink with friends at one of the bars.
Others, on the other hand, had to postpone large wedding celebrations, baptisms, engagements in which several hundred people gathered.
Irena Mihajlović sometimes comes to “Javor”, but is a frequent guest of numerous cafes and bars on Cetinjska street in Belgrade.
He says that since the epidemic began, the company he works for has switched to online mode and that is why he mostly stays in the apartment.
“I like to move out of my house, I need to get out and I like to go see my friends for coffee,” says Mihajlović.
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The situation is similar in the cafes of Vršac, according to waitress Anđelija Vuletić, employed at “Džezva”.
He says that with the arrival of the cold, they removed the garden in front of the bar.
She does not notice that people are afraid of catching the corona virus, because the cafes in the area are full, which, in her opinion, is proof that many are eager to go out.
She says that her salary is practically the same during the week, but the difference is noticeable during the weekend, when “Džezva” has to close at 11 pm.
“Usually there are more people from 11pm until one after midnight, then the tip is the biggest,” Vuletic told the BBC in Serbian.
Without first shift, but with daily visit of utilities
Uroš Kulić runs the “Kaldrma” cafe in Skadarlija, a favorite tourist destination, now almost completely empty.
He says he was forced to cancel the morning shift because there wasn’t enough work and the costs were piling up.
“I give the workers what I get from the state,” Kulic told the BBC in Serbian.
Uroš says the beverage vendors meet his needs by waiting for him to pick up and pay for his order.
Since the cafe that Uroš maintains is located in the popular tourist area, together with the guests, inspectors from the communal police regularly visit it to check whether it closes at 11pm.
What did the caterers in Scotland do?
Bar and restaurant employees in Glasgow dumped piles of leftover ice in front of the Scottish Parliament on Friday night in protest at the decision to shut down for 16 days as part of measures to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
About 3.4 million people are currently under the strictest restrictions.
In many European countries, decisions have been made to limit the work of cafes and restaurants; in France, in six cities, including Paris, cafes, bistros and restaurants have been closed due to a sharp increase in the number of infected.
In the Czech Republic, which has the highest increase in new infections in Europe, the decision remains that cafes and restaurants must close their doors to guests before 8 p.m.
Plans for winter
Kulic from the café “Kaldrma” plans to open the so-called winter terrace, in order to comply with the required protective measures.
Parmaković has a similar plan, in whose garden the cafe will have heaters this winter.
“If we go back to being in jail for that long and we don’t get help from the state, I will be forced to close down and ten people will lose their jobs and income,” he says.
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