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Entrepreneurs in Bucharest defy pandemic to open new restaurants

Indoors are opened for public since September 1 As one of the industries that were most affected by the pandemic, hospitality is slowly recovering after two months of lockdown and a series of safety measures that left them with significantly fewer customers and reduced opening hours. Nevertheless, new places have recently opened downtown, highlighting new trends in urban cuisine.

By Oana Vasiliu

A GLANCE AT THE NUMBERS HORA, the largest association of hotels and restaurants in Romania, recently pointed out that the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions enforced by the authorities led to a 70 percent drop in turnover for local restaurants and bars in the first six months of the year. Moreover, 40 percent of operators have suspended their activity altogether. This situation impacts 400,000 employees in the sector. But on September 1, more of the measures were lifted, with restaurants now allowed to serve their clients indoors while following social distancing rules.

“The number of people going out has been growing since June 1, when we were allowed to dine in outdoor spaces, but we have to consider the fact that for most restaurants in the capital city, summer is not usually a period that boosts sales, as many people are away on holiday. However, the numbers on our app show that more and more people are using it to book a table. To encourage this behaviour, we created a festival dedicated to discovering new places to eat, offering a series of discounts from 15 to 50 percent at more than 100 restaurants in Bucharest and Brasov, with the owners’ support. So far, both clients and restaurants have been happy with the festival,” said Cosmin Magureanu, CEO of the ialoc app, which allows users to reserve tables at restaurants.

HIGH HOPES FROM INTERNATIONAL CHAINS Recently, Romanian restaurant management company Sphera Franchise Group (SFG), the owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell franchises in Romania and the KFC franchise in Northern Italy, has been seeing signs of recovery after it recorded consolidated sales of RON 304.6 million (EUR 63.5 million) in the first half of this year, down 31 percent compared to the same period of 2019. Sphera thus recorded losses of RON 22 million (EUR 4.5 million) in the first half of the year, compared to a net profit of RON 18 million in the same period of 2019. Still, the company has focused on developing news sales channels and closed partnerships with eight online food delivery platforms. In the second quarter, 47 percent of its sales in Romania came through delivery, compared to 7 percent in the same period of last year.

AmRest opened three new Burger King restaurants in a single month, with the newest located at Sudului Square, and with it, the company achieves the final objective of its strategic plan of opening six new restaurants on the Romanian market in the first year.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Despite the pandemic, some entrepreneurs have decided to go ahead with planned openings and set up their “new in town” tag. One of the coolest and trendiest places in Bucharest, Bar A1 (1 Piata Amzei Street), recently reopened in Amzei Square, in the same location where it started out a few years back. “I decided to reopen A1 in October 2019, and it was ready by March. (…) The most difficult thing for me is the uncertainty. It is a general uncertainty, which affects absolutely

Breakfast or brunch? Ou Bucharest should be tasted if you are egg-friendly

BAR A1 is the place to be downtown

New opening in Calea Mosilor zone: RUA Espresso Bar

everyone, not just our field, and it doesn’t allow us to hire more people, to work on a more complex menu, to gradually grow as we would like, to make investments. I am facing an unpredictable scenario. Selecting the people you want to work with is also very difficult, and I am also emotionally involved,” said Anda Mancas, co-owner of Bar A1, for Business Review.

Specialty coffee is still on a roll in Bucharest, the city with over 300 speciality coffee shops. Each and every one of them has something specific, so most of them are worth being discovered. Radu Solo, co-owner of Boiler Milk and Coffee (1 Ing. Slaniceanu Nicolae Street), said: “The initial plan was to open in March just before the lockdown, but we were forced to cancel our plans. We postponed everything until the end of May, when Paul and I decided that we could not wait any longer. Up to that moment we had already lost money, as we paid rent and other bills even if we had no activity whatsoever. We somehow knew that we should not give up on a project with such great potential in a new community. (…) I think was the most difficult thing: to do what we love even in these troubled times while protecting ourselves and our community. We wanted to be perceived as friends who made an effort for the good of the neighbourhood and I hope we were able to accomplish that.”

Andrei Isac, owner of Ou Bucuresti (1 Dianei Street), opened his business in mid-August, with a concept built around four dishes that all reinterpret the egg. “The business had been planned for a year. The location was ready to be opened on March 14, but I decided not to. During the lockdown period we had time to perfect our recipes and think of solutions for the opening day, so we eventually did it on August 12. In this period, I believe that uncertainty has become far too present in our lives. But there are also beautiful things like rediscovering our country and creating a community around small, high-quality businesses,” he noted. Ionut Ivan of RUA Espresso Bar (248 Traian Street), who also co-owns

Red Angus Steakhouse, said: “We decided to expand our business in early 2020, before the WHO had declared the pandemic. We saw the potential on the market and planned to invest in casual concepts, targeting wider audience segments who are young, modern, dynamic, and appreciative of quality. When the lockdown came, we were already working on the new ideas, but we hadn’t yet spent any money. Still, it never crossed our minds to give up. While I am realistic about the crisis we are experiencing now and the repercussions of the COVID-19 measures on our industry, I believe that a good concept which is well-adapted to the current landscape will deliver medium- and long-term results. (…) We approached new business development in stages and, as a consequence, some projects have been delayed. We started with RUA Espresso Bar in early September and will continue with a casual chicken rotisserie in October. The new concept will be focused on affordable, quality products which are suitable for the whole family, and the focus will be on takeaway and delivery, thus responding to today’s consumption patterns and needs,” the entrepreneur explained.