Resuming at half capacity: Restaurant owners face reopening challenges

On the day the government announced that restaurants can resume live dining under certain conditions, a restaurant owners' group said today that Covid-19 restrictions have hit the industry hard and many outlets are facing bleak prospects.

Starting from today, restaurants can reopen under the condition that they only accommodate 50 percent of their capacity.

"This is a really difficult time for everyone, especially the small restaurants. A large number of restaurant owners had to give up their businesses, because they could not hold out for so long," said Ashfaq Rahman Asif, publicity secretary of Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association, and owner of Tarka restaurant.

Earlier today, the government issued a circular extending the ongoing countrywide restrictions on movement and public transport till May 30 in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Restaurants can also serve food keeping half their seats vacant while following health protocols and maintaining social distance, the circular said.

"There are a lot of challenges of reopening as well. Most restaurants are short-staffed at the moment and many are in debt. Without help from some source, many more businesses will collapse soon," Ashfaq Rahman Asif added, pointing out that even though many restaurants had takeaway and homedelivery options during the restrictions, those barely contribute to the business compared to live dining.