Adriana Santagati
07/20/2020 - 7:00
- Clarín.com
- Cities
The staggered quarantine that begins this Monday begins to lead the way towards what at some point will be the expected "new normal" in the City. And although there are no dates, you are beginning to see a return to one of the emblems of Buenos Aires life: its restaurants, bars and cafes . What will it be like to sit down at one of your tables again?
There are no official details, but there is a draft protocol that the chamber that gathers these businesses submitted to the City Government. "We try to make it accessible because reopening is going to be very difficult . We seek to comply with all security measures, but that bars and restaurants make the least investment possible, ”said Carlos Yanelli, president of the Chamber of Restaurants, which is part of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants, Confectioneries and Cafes (AHRCC).
This entity took as a base the recommendations that FUNCEI - the foundation created by the infectologist Stamboulian - made for the guides of the Gastronomic Hotel Federation of Argentina (FEHGRA) and basically applies the measures that were already seen in the cities that they re-enabled the service in the salons. But, Yanelli remarked, it is at the disposal of the authorities to make the necessary modifications.
The businessman clarified that the protocol does not oblige plastic partitions between tables, as some restaurants have already started to place on their own. One of those cases is the grill of Isabel La Católica and Villafañe, in Barracas. There, the owners anticipated and almost three months ago they recycled the shelves with which they protected the sidewalk tables from the wind for an internal dividing system. "We did it with our criteria," they say on the grill, which in this redistribution cut their silverware in half .
Plastic divisions between the tables, already placed on a grill in Barracas. (Guillermo Rodríguez Adami)
Yes, the placement of sanitizing arches is suggested. These steel devices are placed at the entrance and spray the customer with a disinfectant to remove any potential droplets on their clothing. But they are expensive: they can cost between $ 70,000 and $ 80,000. There is another option, more economical: some totems in which you press with your foot so that the liquid comes out. A model of this type is already being put into the Hell's Pizza chain of pizzerias. Between this and other measures of the security protocol that they also put together on their own, and based on experiences from abroad, "we invested about $ 40,000 per local," calculated Matías Cabrera, one of his partners.
The totems with sanitizer that they will put in Hell's Pizza.
What is practically obligatory is the availability of gel alcohol throughout the premises. "One per table," says Yanelli. And at the entrance, it is recommended to put sanitizing grids.
Personnel should wear masks, but not plastic masks. The table should only be set up when the diner sits in the chair . The waiter will approach and place the tablecloth and dishes, which will be removed once the customer leaves. At that time it will proceed to disinfect empty tables and chairs.
Regarding the crockery , the indication is that each plate, glass and cutlery - both without being disposable as of china or glass - arrives in an envelope. With the tablecloths, a first suggestion was to use disposables, but from the entity that brings together the laundries they raised their voices because of the impact this can have on the sector and because, they point out, well-sanitized tablecloths do not represent a risk .
A central point is the distribution of the tables : yes or yes there must be a minimum distance of 1.5 meters (measured from the chair, and there can only be four people per table. This will dramatically reduce the operating capacity of the premises : According to estimates in the AHRCC, 40% of customers will be able to enter than before.
In the staggered quarantine plan presented by Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, stage 1 begins this Monday, which maintains delivery and take away. In 2, self-service outdoor gastronomy will be added and in 3, with table service. For stage 4, 25% of the room's capacity, 50% in stage 5 and an "increase in capacity" in stage 6. Although there are no dates, the sector estimates that the stage could be enabled by early August. 2, as a prelude to the return to the classrooms between the end of that month and the beginning of September.
Entrepreneurs are already thinking about how to promote the business outside doors with tables on the sidewalk, decks on the street, terraces and patios. “We have the enabled sidewalk and a patio with heating. We are seeing the distance between the tables and luckily we will be able to comply with the norm ”, points out Andrés Mazer, from Maiky Parrilla.
At McDonald's, counter dividers and floor stickers to keep social distance.
Many gastronomic venues, especially those of the chains, even without official regulations, adapted their operation and will apply the same protocols as in other cities of the Interior. At McDonald's, for example, they placed acrylic partitions on the checkout lines and put signs on the floor for customers to keep social distance while waiting, among other measures. At Burger King they interleaved tables and limited order intake to two at a time. Starbucks distanced tables and limited the number of people who can enter at the same time. All three implemented temperature control for employees and suppliers.
But there are gastronomic entrepreneurs who are asking for a further step: a certification that endorses the preventive measures made by the local. "There is a job to do and it is a good time to call it. It could be done perhaps from a table where the private sector, the public and the union are," says Fernando Goijman, director of Tostado Café Club. He assures that there are many actors who had been optimizing their processes and the covid crisis accelerated it, but which speaks for “a whole sector that we are trying to professionalize each of the internal procedures. It would be very positive to find a certificate that guarantees all those who work with good practices and that makes it visible to the client, because if we are not all equal. "
Sebastián Ríos, president of the Gastronomic Group RE (Almacén de Pizzas and Juan Valdez, among others) agrees with him. “The pandemic taught us that a systematization and modernization of bromatological control is necessary, as well as the generation of innovation and the promotion of the incorporation of good practices. People today ask for health and safety, chinstrap and gloves by the staff, table notice available and digital menu. For the user to see that we really comply with these requirements and want to return to our businesses, it is essential to have a seal or certification that meets a series of aspects to be met, with new protocols and training for personnel, all based on a new standard that respond to social demand, "he says.
At Tostado Café Club they also put acrylics on the boxes and gel alcohol on the counter.
One of those demands that is not written in any guide (at least for now) but most of the sources consulted agree that it will accelerate is contactless . "We have already defined to eliminate the paper menu , which is all digital, with a QR that the customer scans and can even make the order from his cell phone," says Emmanuel Paglayan, owner of Ninina. In the Cosi mi place pizzeria they plan to do the same, and encourage electronic payment . In Tostado they have now launched a site that allows to order and pay from the cell phone and that was part of their business strategy just for 2022 . At SushiClub they will not only have a scannable menu with a QR code, but they plan that customers arrive with a reservation made and even with their order ordered to "avoid unnecessary interaction" with the waiters. “The idea is to leverage technology without eradicating the waiter, since the brand wants to maintain a warm and personalized service. We believe it will add value to the experience ”, adventure Tomas Pugliese, its general manager.
And what will happen when we finally get to the day the classrooms reopen? Will people run to their favorite bar? Will there be massive family lunches on Sunday noon or romantic dinners on Saturday night? Taking as a parameter how open businesses are and the sales they make, we are not going to be far from what is happening today. It does not seem to me that people are going to leave in a massive way because the economy hits us all . And as much as the quarantine has been super long, there is a large percentage of people who have respect for contagion, ”Yanelli analyzes. Goijman thinks the same and sees a double retraction in consumption. “On the one hand, because of the economic crisis, but another because of mistrust. The consumer is going to demonstrate a change of habit and consumption because today he has information and a commitment that he did not have before. So we have tools to build trust and show that you are entering a safe establishment, "he insists.
ACE