The deadline is approaching without being certain.
During the press conference last Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex unveiled some elements of the future calendar intended to reopen their establishments.
Shops, cultural activities, sports and terraces will reopen "around mid-May" if the health situation allows, he announced, specifying that their exact list is not yet fixed.
This Saturday, Olivier Véran, however, called for caution.
The Minister of Health spoke of a "
cautious relaunch"
about the reopening of certain businesses in mid-May.
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Despite these uncertainties, professionals in the restaurant business must start preparing for a reopening after six months of the curtains drawn. A difficult mission, always tinged with the anguish of postponing the date.
“
They finalize their small painting jobs in particular and clean their rooms and their kitchens,
” says Hervé Bécam, confederal vice-president of Umih. For the reopening of an establishment closed for several months, it takes a budget of "
several thousand euros
" for cleaning the rooms, the kitchen but also the machines, windows and blinds.
Romain Vidal, secretary general of the Group of independents in the hotel and catering industry in Paris and director of the restaurant Le Sully, has already disbursed a budget of 3,000 euros. “
It's better to anticipate because we all have the same cleaning needs such as blinds or windows that are done by professionals. They are going to be overloaded
".
On the side of these professionals precisely, for the moment, the demand has not yet taken off but they are preparing for it.
"
I know that we are going to be overwhelmed but it remains calm these days
", highlights Mathieu Manière, director of Travers La Vitre.
Advance meat orders
Bars and restaurants are directly affected by their reopening, but they are bringing the entire sector with them through food producers, drink distributors and even wholesalers.
Restaurants and bar managers are re-establishing contact with their product suppliers.
"
We call our suppliers to ensure that prices and product availability are maintained
," explains Pascal Mousset, president of GNI Île-de-France.
With the uncertainty that reigns, it is still too early to place large orders. “
Without a firm date and without knowing our opening hours, we cannot incur additional costs. We need a specific date to really restart our organization,
”continues Pascal Mousset.
Only certain products, specific to restaurateurs, are once again in demand. “
Some prior orders are placed for meats, in particular to reserve them and make sure they have them,
” says Hervé Bécam from Umih. A renewed interest in pieces of meat essential to restaurateurs such as steak tartare, rump steak or entrecote. “
The prices of these meats have already increased by 10% thanks to the return of demand. It's good for the producers because the prices had fallen very low,
”describes Serge Nadaud, manager of a triperie in Rungis.
As for the beverage vending machines, they stand ready for a major spike in activity.
“
We are preparing, we are restoring our stocks.
I contacted two temp agencies, especially for the first two weeks of reopening.
We are trying to organize ourselves with the establishments so that they plan their orders, but it will rather be at the last moment,
”says Sidonie Duloum of Maison Milliet, a beverage supplier.
A partial return of the teams
On the staff side, managers contact their team on short-time work to assess their desire to come back. "
Most are impatient but it will be difficult for some, especially in terms of physical form
," recognizes Romain Vidal. After six months of partial unemployment, the return will not necessarily be obvious. This restaurateur has planned to provide training to its employees, included in the personal training account, on re-establishing contact with customers.
Despite the reopening of the terraces, a total return from the teams is not possible since the terraces represent on average 30% of the turnover of the establishments which have them.
“
My employees will be part-time, even for the kitchen staff, especially with the health protocol
,” explains Romain Vidal.
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Once the precise date of reopening has been revealed, restaurant owners and bar managers will finalize their orders, their menu and the redevelopment of the terraces to be ready to welcome the French who are just waiting for that.