Coronavirus: China’s restaurants and shops suffer ‘sleepless nights’ as business closures surge
- Restaurants, shops and other parts of China’s services sector have been forced to close as virus control measures limit customer traffic to a fraction of normal
- With revenues drying up, small businesses are struggling to keep up with costs like rent and employee salaries
Struggling under a coronavirus-related ban on restaurant dining, Jay Li and his business partners made the heartbreaking decision to close their three eateries in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and sack all their staff in February.
Under the containment policy, which does not include food delivery services, the capital of prosperous Guangdong province – once a heaven for gourmets – has suffered an unprecedented downturn, with once thriving restaurants and shops forced to shut down.
“I thought 2019 was bad enough, but the epidemic made the situation worse in 2020 and cut cash income to almost zero,” Li said. “Our savings just can’t support the rent and labour that cost at least 700,000 (US$101,000) yuan a month.”
I thought 2019 was bad enough, but the epidemic made the situation worse in 2020 and cut our cash income to almost zero
With Chinese banks not interested in lending to small businesses, Li said “Shutting down the business was the only thing we small-sized cafes and restaurants could do.”