AMMAN — Friday
lockdown has been lifted and the acceleration
of the vaccination campaign provides hope that Jordan might soon return to a
pre-pandemic normal. Despite these measures, the restaurant sector anticipates
that the effects of the
pandemic will have a lasting impact.
اضافة اعلان
Owners of restaurants and cafes told
Jordan News that the
curfew and lockdown decisions have devastated the sector and left a huge impact
that will not fade anytime soon.
“Before the pandemic we suffered from a lack of customers as
people’s priorities have changed and visiting a new restaurant or a cafe is not
a priority for them anymore,” one cafe owner said. “But after the pandemic, the
loss was doubled. Before we might get some customers per day, but now we might
spend days and no customer passes by our cafes.”
Several owners pointed to the ban on argileh in restaurants
as a major factor in their decline. “Banning argileh was one of the reasons
behind the lack of customers and work, therefore the rise of losses,” he went
on. “The majority of the customers who come to our cafes used to order argileh
and enjoy spending hours using it.”
“Night curfew hours are the most important factor to our
losses,” said a cafe and restaurant owner. “People used to come after 6 or 7pm
and spend hours smoking argileh, eating, and playing cards. But now as the
curfew begins at six, people do not have time to come, and even if they do,
they do not enjoy it as they used to before, especially since we do not offer
argileh anymore.”
“I can guarantee that we are able to serve argileh with the
highest safety measures and standards if the government allows us to,” he
added.
A source from the Jordan Restaurants Association (
JRA) told
Jordan News that the government is working with owners to find solutions to
compensate their losses. “I can say that the government is taking the right
decisions,” he said. “Ultimately, both economic and health statutes are
important. I cannot blame them for the tough decisions they take.”
“I guess after Ramadan, things will get better, especially
with the end of the Friday lockdowns as we rely on the earnings we get from
Fridays,” the JRA source said.
A source from the National Committee for Epidemics told
Jordan News that restaurants and cafes will be allowed to serve argileh again
when the health situation is appropriate.
“Whenever the time allows us to we will allow them to serve
argileh,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “We actually monitor
the health situation in Jordan day by day to figure out what decisions we can
take to help all the sectors.”
“At the end we do not want any losses for them, but also the
coronavirus pandemic required us to take some tough decisions to protect our
society and people’s health. This is for their own safety,” he said.
President of the Jordanian Union of Restaurants and Confectionary
Proprietors Omar Al-Awwad confirmed to
Jordan News that nighttime curfew hours
had negatively affected their sector, demanding the government reduce the
nightly curfew hours.
“Many of the cafes and restaurants have closed their doors
and (how) many are going to close them at any time if the government does not
reconsider trimming curfew hours and allowing us to serve argileh for our
customers,” he said. “Can you imagine how many employees have lost their jobs?
Do you think they can find jobs easily? Of course not. They are joining the
ranks of the unemployed.”
“Now it is the holy month of Ramadan and that means that no
customer would come to visit a cafe or a restaurant,” he went on. “Before 6pm
people are fasting and after that curfew begins. Can you imagine the losses
that have been sustained?”
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