KUCHING: Businesses in coffeeshops and restaurants in the city are slowly picking up with many of them not only providing dine-in but also delivery services.
Kuching Coffeeshop and Restaurants Owners Association committee member Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng said business is getting better as compared to last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The habit of dining-in is changing but it is still the trend. For now, we can see that more and more people opt to take away their food.
“Plus, most eateries do provide delivery where customers need not sit in and eat at the eateries,” he told New Sarawak Tribune on Sunday (May 2).
He said operating eateries during the Covid-19 pandemic was very challenging.
About 25 percent of more than 1,500 of eateries in the city were struggling and as such chose to shut down last year.
“At the same time, there are new shops opened, as operators believe that the pandemic will soon be over,” he said.
He shared that last year alone at Gala City Commercial Centre, about seven eateries closed down because of Covid-19.
Asked about the future for these eateries if the pandemic persists, Tan said that for the business to sustain, operators can scale down, cut costs, and employ fewer workers.
“Operators must also come up with new selling strategies such as offering food delivery services and also provide more varieties to their customers,” he said.
On another note, he hoped that the government could provide the necessary financial aid (long and short term) to assist these eateries during this trying time.
He also hoped that the shop and stall operators could be given the Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible.
“On the association’s side, we have been taking initiatives such as providing our members with posters and updating information related to Covid-19,” said Tan.
