RESTAURATEURS are struggling to balance revenue and Covid-19 safety protocols and have mixed views on the 2am closing time rule.

Some told The Malaysian Insight the extra opening hours do help boost the till, while others said the extra revenue is marginal.

They also said that while outlets may generate a few hundred ringgit more during the extra two hours, they must still ensure patrons follow standard operating procedure (SOP), failing which the outlet, as well as customers, are liable to being fined by the authorities.

The Malaysian Indian Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association (Primas) president, Muthusamy Thirumeni, said the move to allow eateries to operate until 2am instead of 12am was needed to revive the economy. However, in reality, it had little impact for Indian eateries.

At most Indian eateries, patrons dine until around 1am and rarely do people stay until 2am.

He felt consumers, on the whole, are still cautious about going out.

“In general, most of the outlets operate until 1am. This feedback is from about 70% of our 1,200 members nationwide.”

The extra opening hours, compared with the earlier closure during the movement-control order (MCO) in March and April, only nets about RM200 to RM300 extra in sales, depending on the area, Muthusamy said.

“Outlets still can’t earn that much as there aren’t many customers.”

Safety first

On September 10, senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said restaurants and convenience stores will be allowed to operate until 2am under the recovery MCO.

Prior to that, during the conditional MCO, they were only allowed to open till midnight, while during the MCO, it was until 8pm.

The decision to extend hours to 2am was made by the National Security Council after numerous complaints from business operators.

Muthusamy said patrons’ safety must still come first and failure by eateries and patrons to abide by the SOP will cause bigger losses.

“If enforcement (officers) come after them, their losses will be even bigger,” he said.

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Jawahar Ali Taib Khan also said closing at midnight or 2am did not make a big difference to sales.

“Maybe on weekends, some outlets can generate a bit of revenue. Perhaps an extra RM250, (this) depends on the area as well.

“Not all of us open until 2am. Most of our members close at midnight or 1am on weekdays.”

Many association members, from Presma’s 6,000 nationwide, are also concerned about workers’ safety.

“I consider our workers front-liners. The risk is there for them as they serve so many people,” Jawahar added.

Crucial time

However, Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance spokesman Joshua Liew said the 2am closing time was helpful for restaurants that serve alcohol and are licensed as “restaurant and bar”.

“If we look at the restaurants that don’t serve alcohol, they are not the ones operating after midnight.

“The ones who are operating until 2am are the ones that serve alcohol and those are (a) minority.

“Their volume of sales is big because they serve alcohol. So, it (the later closing time) does affect them,” Liew said, adding that business at these outlets usually pick up after 10pm.

“It is a short time to generate revenue, but this is only for a small sector (of the alliance’s members). There is a need to operate until 2am to help their revenue.”

Liew agreed that everyone is concerned about the spike in Covid-19 cases and that it would be safer not to operate until 2am.

“But some outlets really do need to survive. However, they must be stringent in their SOP.”

The alliance has more than 1,100 members nationwide, from all segments of the food and beverage industry.

Restaurateur William Chai, who runs Foret, said the 2am closing time was crucial for his outlet as most customers were night owls who wanted supper.

Chai said: “20% of the day’s total sales take place during the 12am to 2am period, which is the later closing time it is very crucial for us. We do make sure our customers follow the Health Ministry’s SOP.”

The 2am closing time, however, will end tonight in Selangor after the state government ordered that restaurants with bars must close at 11pm.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said yesterday this decision was taken after the recent spike in Covid-19 infections, where numbers reached 260 on Thursday and 287 yesterday.

Amirudin said beginning today, all eateries with bars in Selangor must close at 11pm.

Buharry Briyani restaurant owner R.C. Krishnan said eateries needed the revenue from staying open longer but conceded that consumer sentiment was still poor because of the virus pandemic.

“Many people are still not going out. We incurred a drop in sales in the last two weeks of up to 30%, 40%.”

Renewed concerns over another wave of Covid-19 infections and the possible return to movement restrictions are high after Malaysia reported 287 new infections yesterday, the largest number of infections in a single day. All were local transmissions.

Consumers like Raiden Wong, 34, said he took precautions when eating out by observing a restaurant’s physical distancing.

“As long as there is open space and social distancing in place, I’m alright with eating out. I also try to avoid restaurants that don’t have outdoor seating,” said the Subang Jaya resident.

Marketing executive S. Shanthosekumar also agreed with the 2am closing time, saying it allowed him to go out and meet his friends.

His friends and he favour mamak restaurants where they watch football matches until closing time on weekends. – October 3, 2020.