Shop closed and wait out the storm: How our customers are handling the coronavirus crisis

Until further notice, many restaurants and cafés will remain closed. Given the current situation, this is certainly a sensible measure to avoid new Covid-19 infections, commonly referred to as coronavirus. However, for the hospitality industry sector, which consists of independent small businesses without a financial safety net, closing means massive sales losses and, in the worst case, even ruin. We are maintaining close contact with our customers and support them through the crisis. In this section, we will tell their stories over the next few weeks: Stories that show how they tackle their daily life and what difficult decisions they have to make. But also stories that inspire and encourage – because hardly anyone represents courage as much as independent entrepreneurs.

Erkan Karakaya, Arthur Fuchs and Samet Karakaya – Askitis greekcuisine - Düsseldorf

‘Astikis is currently experiencing 70 to 80 per cent loss of revenue. On the first day of our delivery and pick-up service, only 5 orders came in. Of course, that’s not a lot. Therefore, only the owners and family members are working here right now. We handle the deliveries ourselves. We have a lot of employees who’ve been with us for years; they miss the routine and are sad about the situation. We take each day as it comes now. That’s all we can do. That’s why we’re only focusing on the delivery and pick-up service and making the best of it. One thing keeps me motivated: I feel like people are sticking together more. Especially the regulars – they’re worried about us. For the first time, we also sense more interest in the local businesses: People in Düsseldorf – or Germans in general – are shifting towards local business and are proclaiming: Hey, we need to support the neighbourhood restaurants, not the big chains.’

Arthur Fuchs – Schvarz Café – Düsseldorf

‘Schvarz Café is facing a completely new situation. As a coffee-roasting business, we specialised in supplying restaurants and offices: of our 100 commercial customers, 95 dropped out overnight. Luckily, we were able to pick up new private customers. In the last two weeks we’ve seen a 400 per cent increase. That saves us for now. But our concept has completely changed. Just like METRO for food, we were the partner for the hospitality industry, and now we purely operate online. To avoid losing touch with our private clients, we decided from one day to another that we would supply the Düsseldorf customers directly if they asked for it. The response has been great. The fact that people are working from home works in our favour. Nevertheless, we’ve suffered significant losses because private customers naturally don’t order the same quantities as restaurateurs. As a result, only half of our employees are currently still working.’

Jackie Hingsen – Cali Eats – Düsseldorf

'Nothing can put me in a bad mood right now – not even the coronavirus. But that’s probably also because I just became a mother. And since my husband started working from home, he can now spend more time with our little daughter. That’s what makes us happy.
Regarding Cali Eats, we’re simply reacting at the moment and relying on to-go orders, which allows us to cover our expenses (so far). We use everything available to us so that we can pay our employees for as many hours as possible. But I’d like to see better government policies about short-time work and options for parents with children. A tax abatement or reduced social security contributions would be helpful. Also, suppliers could offer better conditions, since it’s really the retail industry that benefits.

At the moment we are still well positioned. The question is whether this really stays at 2 weeks or rather 4, 6 or even 8 weeks. But we’re all in the same boat and it’s all uncertain anyway, so I just have to stay positive. In a crisis you’re forced to be creative. And our customers stick with us and are very happy that we are still open.'

More Information about Cali Eats via Instragram @cali.eats.de

Frank Stauga – Altes Amtshaus – Wildeshausen

‘We closed our restaurants in Verden and Wildeshausen to protect our employees and guests – but the pantries were full. That's why we’ve been offering free food for anyone who wants it since the 23 of March – for pick up at our parking lot or via delivery. People simply have to order in advance by phone or email. This is the requirement of the public order office. There is no menu. There is simply good food from what is available and what our regional partners bring us. For days I’ve been standing in the kitchen making chutneys, pestos and oils from foods that would otherwise spoil. We aren’t taking any money for it; we just don't want to have to throw anything away and maybe do something good for the people as well. On the 23 of March we served about 70 meals – but there could be more to come. If you need a meal, you can get it from us. We are not asking why. As long as we receive food donations from the regional companies, we will continue to do as we are.’

More information about the activities of Frank Stauga and his team can be found on his Facebook page.

Fridolin Taudtmann – Buchkantine – Berlin

‘Within a few days I had to part with a third of my employees and applied for short-time work. That was incredibly emotional. At first, we reduced our previous 80 seats to 40 in order to maintain the required minimum distance. But even they often remained empty. By now, we’ve had to close the restaurant. As a preventive measure, we have taken advantage of everything that can be claimed; for example, we have applied for tax deferments and adjusted the health insurance prepayments. The fact that we have a bookshop in addition to the restaurant is a blessing for us. People are staying home. The schools and day-care centres are closed. That's when people buy books which they can have them delivered to their home via our online shop.’

Read here the full interview with Fridolin: "Our Industry is not crisis-proof at all"

Danny Derbe – Zum Bierseidel – Berlin

‘With a heavy heart I closed my three shops. We tried take-away food, but it just wasn't worth it – especially since the shops are not in heavily trafficked locations where people walk by and pick something up spontaneously. Right now, I'm still busy securing the shops so that they aren’t exposed for vandalism, for example, if someone damages the patio furniture. One landlord already remitted part of the rent – I was very touched by that. I’m working on individual solutions with my employees and of course I hope that all this will soon be over and that we can start over together.’

Find here the full interview with Danny: "A lot of questions, a lot of hope: ‘I need my employees when I open back up."