Barranquilla is making great strides to reactivate the city’s gastronomic sector after five arduous months with the kitchens off or working over low heat.
Just four days after starting the first gastronomic pilot with 30 restaurants spread throughout the city, the Ministry of Economic Development extended the call so that more establishments can once again attend diners in person.
According to Ricardo Plata, Secretary of Economic Development, the extension of this call is in line with the directive of Mayor Jaime Pumarejo that “in 45 days we must be opening all the restaurants in the city.”
Unlike the first call, this call will be permanent and restaurants will be gradually evaluated at the rate that they provide their respective biosafety protocols. “We want to support the establishments that have expressed their intention to open to the public so that they can do so these days,” said Plata.
Announcement
The registration platform for the new stage of the pilot tests is already enabled on the website of the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla. In it, interested premises must pre-register their biosafety protocols and attach photographs of the outdoor space where customers will be served.
Once the required documentation has been submitted, the establishments must wait for the District’s visit and authorization to operate again.
The appeal makes special mention of restaurants that were already registered under the option of working only with addresses. “We are going to give them the most recent recommendations such as tables for four people, open spaces, electronic reservations and the prohibition of selling alcoholic beverages,” said Plata.
The Secretary of Economic Development also referred to the bulk of almost 70 restaurants that were left out of the first cut. “We gave them some guidelines and suggestions for the final protocol so they can open as soon as possible,” he said.
Restaurants located in shopping centers and hotels may also be part of this new call. “We will be evaluating their protocols strictly,” said Plata.
Reactions. Magni Montero, director of Acodrés Atlántico, stressed that the union “welcomes” the expansion of the pilot plans “thanks to the good receptivity on the part of the locals and on the part of the diners, who have understood that there are now restrictions”.
Balance
The Secretary of Economic Development reported that the 30 restaurants enabled in the first pilot phase have presented an occupancy percentage between 40% and 80%, in addition to an increase in their sales and a good number of reservations for this weekend.
Figures
According to the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce, there are about 3,600 restaurants in the city.
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