With demand high, rents low, and staff available, opening a restaurant amid a pandemic is not as crazy as it sounds
- Restaurants worldwide have been struggling through the pandemic, coping with restrictions on diners and operating hours; many have closed
- Three entrepreneurial Hong Kong restaurateurs took advantage of lower rents, available staff and hordes of people who love to eat out to open their first places
“I’m a virgin so everything takes longer,” confesses chef and first-time restaurateur Anthony Cheung. “I wish it can be all about cooking but other things have to be considered when you’re running a restaurant.”
Cheung has opened Casa Cucina & Bar, a three-storey, 60-seat venue in Sai Ying Pun, a fast-gentrifying old neighbourhood at the western end of Hong Kong Island, that serves casual and homey Mediterranean fare. He was not going to let a pandemic deter him from his dream.
“It was my goal from day one to open a restaurant,” Cheung says. “I used to be an accountant, believe it or not. On my 30th birthday, I realised I couldn’t stand it any more. So I bought a one-way ticket to New York and enrolled in a culinary course at International Culinary Center [ICC]. This was six years ago.”
Despite the risks, there’s no shortage of new people seeking to enter the hospitality sector, even though restaurants have been affected more than most businesses, having had to shut down at short notice when coronavirus cases have spiked.
However, for the brave, there are some advantages to rolling the dice now. Rents have fallen dramatically. With so many displaced workers, staffing is no longer an issue. There is arguably also much pent-up demand for going out, after everyone has been eating at home for so many months. Cheung is betting on Hong Kong people returning to their old habits.
“A lot of restaurants closed down, but if you walk on the street at night there are still restaurants that are packed. If you get your product right, the price correct, and give your customer a good experience, that is a formula for success.