THE easing of Covid-19 restrictions, including allowing dine-ins for those fully vaccinated, could not have come at a better time for restaurant operators.

They said that a prolonged suspension of business or relying just on takeaways would have shut down most of them.

Now with the lifting of the strict restrictions, they told The Malaysian Insight that business has gone up at least 70% compared to when they were only doing takeaways.

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president J. Suresh said the eateries were seeing a steady increase in customers.

“I think the situation will get back to pre-Covid days once everyone is vaccinated,” he said.

Before dine-ins were allowed, they were only making about 20% to 30% of what they used to bring in, he said.

“At that point of time, most owners were struggling to pay rent and also staff salaries.

“Thankfully now with dine-ins allowed, business has improved tremendously,”  he said, adding that Primas has 2,000 members nationwide.

Suresh said most of the restaurant owners are not making much but enough to pay rent and employees’ wages.

He said their daily takings will be much better if business hours are extended but agrees that most eateries face manpower problems.

“Although restaurants are allowed to operate until midnight, some still close early due to a lack of manpower.

“The manpower issue has also led to some shops to shut down their business temporarily,” he said.

Under the national recovery plan, restaurants and eateries were allowed last month to operate from 6am to midnight, except for areas under the enhanced movement control order.

Beginning this week, all states and territories in the country are either in phase 3 or 4 of the national recovery plan.

This has also allowed the government to allow highway rest areas to operate 24 hours a day, apart from allowing interstate travels and encouraging local tourism.

Looking for simpler SOP

Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance co-founder Joshua Liew also said business has been improving gradually with the reopening of the economy.

“It is good that the government has finally allowed dine-ins because there are some F&B operators who just can’t make it with takeaways.

“For instance, when you talk about fine dining, people pay for the experience and the ambiance instead of just the food. So when it comes to takeaways, these restaurants do not make much,” he said.

Liew agreed that the shortage of manpower is one of the big issues now as many operators laid off their employees during the extended lockdown. These workers have either found new jobs or have gone back to their country of origin.

He added that the standard operating procedure (SOP) has also increased the cost of doing business by up to 15%.

“While sanitisers and thermometers are not expensive, there are other SOP costs and they all add up and are a burden.

“I understand the government will be issuing new SOP soon. I hope it will simplify things for F&B operators,” said Liew.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said sales had gone up 70% since dine-ins were allowed.

Jawahar also highlighted the manpower shortage issue, saying business can improve further if manpower is sufficient.

He said it is not easy to find local workers to work at restaurants, especially at mamak eateries, despite offering good wages.

“At this point, with the manpower situation, it is good that we are only allowed to operate until midnight as I don’t think most of us can afford to open 24 hours. For now, midnight is good enough,” he said.

Rata restaurant owner and chef T. Vicneswara, 29, said business has gone up 60% since dine-ins are allowed.

He lamented that when only takeaways were allowed, his daily collection was only about 20% compared to pre-lockdown days.

“We have yet to reach our full potential. Hopefully, by the end of the year we will be able to do so,” he said.

Vicneswara, whose restaurant is located in Subang Jaya, also said that operating until midnight is good enough.

“My customers are not complaining,” he added. – October 23, 2021.