CATERING ESTABLISHMENTS OF MOSCOW ARE ON THE VERGE OF CLOSURE

Visiting restaurants, cafes and bars in Moscow is now possible only for persons who have vaccination certificates or negative PCR tests. But these documents are still not enough - you need to get a QR code confirming their validity.

Over the past week, it turned out that the number of visitors at catering establishments decreased by almost 90%.

Trade turnover fell by 96% in a few days. An exception was the establishments equipped with summer verandas, in which it is allowed to be served without QR codes.

Experts predict that extending this regime for a few more weeks will lead to a mass closure and bankruptcy of Moscow catering establishments.

This opinion was expressed by the restaurant ombudsman of the capital, Sergei Mironov. He noted that the halls of the majority of restaurants continue to be empty, while visitors who do not have QR codes are stopped at the entrance, causing obvious displeasure of the guests of the establishment.

The founder of the Anderson cafe chain is even more pessimistic about what is happening. According to the entrepreneur, more than 50% of restaurants and cafes may be closed down soon.

Many catering establishments do not have open verandas, and a catastrophic drop in turnover has already occurred.

We should remind our readers that according to the rules adopted on June 28, restaurants and cafes can operate in the capital in several formats: courier delivery, takeaway and in traditional format. The reception of visitors currently causes the main problem for the restaurateurs.

An organization that decides to work in format is entered in a special register after notifying the authorities of its intention to comply with the mayor's decree. However, if the institution violates the rules, it is deleted from the register without the right to recovery. For many establishments, this is tantamount to closing, emphasize the experts.

If we add to this that the company may also receive a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles (Article 20.6.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) or even up to 500 thousand rubles (part 2 of Article 6.3 of the Administrative Code), then the tragedy of the situation is obvious.

As the restaurateurs themselves note, to suspend the restaurant's activities voluntarily or wait until it is suspended for 90 days as a sanction for an administrative offense is not a big choice, because both roads lead to liquidation or bankruptcy.