Mérida, Yucatán, (March 19, 2021).- According to the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Spiced Food Industry (Canirac), at least 2,700 restaurants closed permanently last year in Yucatán, after the economic crisis left by the coronavirus world health contingency,
The president of the business organization, Roberto G. Cantón Barros, said that this number represents 20 percent of the 13,500 businesses dedicated to the sale of prepared foods that operated before the arrival of the pandemic, which generated the loss of at least 10,800 jobs in the state.
He pointed out that the restaurants that still work are doing it with great effort since closing “would mean the loss of their family income and the end of many years of hard work.”
“It has not been easy for our noble industry, no authority and no businessman was prepared to experience a health issue as serious as the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the beginning of the vaccination process gives us a light of hope and it encourages them to keep up the hard work ”, he expressed.
“The restaurant scene is still far from being favorable, we continue to have operational restrictions that damage income, however, as we have always stated, our premises are safe places that comply with all sanitary measures,” he said.
He stressed that a total recovery will depend a lot on the rhythm of the vaccination process, which could generate the recovery of the figures that were registered in sales and influx of diners, even before the pandemic.
“At the national level, the outlook is not encouraging at all, especially if we live in a country abandoned by its federal government, which has ignored the restaurant industry, denying its support for this important business sector,” he said.
“As a business sector, we want to keep the sources of employment in place, so we will continue looking for alternatives in order to avoid the closure of more businesses and especially the loss of income of thousands of Yucatecan families,” Roberto G. Cantón Barros concluded.
