UP to 1,000 Chinese restaurants have been forced to shut down because of the movement-control order, which was implemented on March 18, said restaurateurs.

They are hoping that things will look up after the conditional MCO is lifted and replaced with the recovery MCO effective Wednesday until August 31.

Under the recovery MCO, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has relaxed many of the strict shutdown measures imposed on March 18 to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, including allowing restaurants to return to their usual operating hours.

Malaysia Selangor and Federal Territory Ku Su Shin Choong Hung Restaurant Association (KUSU) president Lum Tuck Loy said about 800 to 1,000 restaurants of all sizes have been forced to shut nationwide since the implementation of the MCO.

“In the Klang Valley alone, about 300 restaurants, including seafood restaurants, have closed. This situation will be more obvious after June 9 (the last day of the CMCO).

“As far as I know, some are permanently closed, some are temporarily closed and will come back when the economy improves,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

It’s hard for owners to sustain business unless they have enough funds, he said.

“Electricity, water, goods and staff salaries are all heavy expenses, and no business could maintain them for long.”

In the face of the epidemic, which shows no signs of ending, some well-established brands are also being more cautious.

Kim Lian Kee Hokkien Mee started in 1927 as a stall in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur and expanded to eight branches now, concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and Johor.

The restaurant’s fourth generation owner and managing director of Kim Lian Kee Holdings Sdn Bhd, Henry Lee, told The Malaysian Insight that it has decided to close three of its branches after being hit by the pandemic.

“These three branches did not perform well, so we chose to shut it down. As for other stores, it is business as usual.”

He also believes food and beverage outlets have no choice but to close in the current condition

“In this era, survival is key, so we must compare expenditures to income to survive.”

He revealed that previously, the take up rate for dine-in can be between 10 and 15 tables but now there are only four to five tables, hence the customer headcount is also drastically reduced.

“Internally, we have also made adjustments to manpower. In the past, we had 15 employees at one time, but now there are about seven at a time and we have put in place shifts to keep their jobs.”

Changing habits

Lee said consumption patterns have also changed following the pandemic and the restaurant will also look into delivery services and stepping up promotions through social media and live broadcast platforms.

“My idea is that the food and beverage industry must first transform and come up with different ways in order to attract more customers.

“In this case, the focus is not to make money or profit first, but to let the company survive and employees keep their jobs.”

Phang Yew Kee is in charge of Restoran Sek Yuen, which has been around for 72 years in the Pudu area.

The restaurant never provided delivery services but had to adopt it after the pandemic, he said.

It began delivery services on March 18, he said but the response was lukewarm and declined once people started going back to work.

“During the epidemic, people may not look for big meals, such as fish and meat, so what we do is mainly affordable meal deliveries, such as a bento with three dishes for RM12.”

Takeaways, he said, only account for 20% of the usual business volume on weekdays.

“Compared to businesses that are unable to operate completely, we are lucky to at least sustain 20% of our income.

“But at the same time, we also have to use more water and electricity and pay salaries, so it is not enough to support, and we can only use savings to cover for now.”

Although dine-ins are allowed now, the restaurant hasn’t decided to open its doors to the public.

Its customer base consists mainly of families of between five and 10 people.

“If a family comes to celebrate birthdays, but only four people can sit at a table, should they be divided into three tables? Customers will be unhappy, which is not good for the restaurant,” he said.

He is hoping the pandemic will end this year, or otherwise the restaurant will miss the “golden opportunity” for sales at next year’s Chinese New Year.

If it continues to suffer heavy losses, the business may have to be closed.

New challenges

Hakka Restaurant, which was founded in 1956 in Ipoh and relocated several times before settling in Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur, has also been affected during the MCO.

Second-generation owner Chong said the outlet was closed from March 18 to June 1.

“June 2 was our first day of business after reopening. But before that, we would come back from time to time to clean the place and our tableware.”

She said the restaurant is able to sustain financially during the period of suspension of its business.

“We have been doing financial management for many years and we will not use funds imprudently, hence, we are not afraid to face the pandemic,” she said.

“It’s worth mentioning that I also have a good landlord who was willing to waive my three-month rent and tens of thousands of ringgit a month, otherwise it would really be a challenge to reopen.”

Asked on whether there will be changes to the business model, Chong said she believed that customers will come back even without making any change.

“I’m very confident in my restaurant. Customers like our food and environment and they will come back naturally. And we only need to do our duty and keep high standards of hygiene to let customers eat with peace of mind.”

Foreign workers will also take a temporary break until their Covid-19 test results are out, she said. – June 8, 2020.