After a half-year break, from May 7, caterers resumed their work in Latvia, receiving visitors on the outdoor terraces and, despite the bad weather, reservation lists for this weekend and next week are filling up quite quickly, reports TV3 News.
The furnished, decorated terraces of restaurants, bars and cafes were ready to receive visitors early in the morning. The weather today was not pampering, so most of the dining places in the heart of the capital were empty. However, service providers are pleased to be able to meet their customers face to face after a six-month break.
“We arranged, cleaned the tables that have stood for a year, arranged them so that they are beautiful and pleasant, the rugs are. We started accepting reservations since early. At the moment, there are still lax ones, but reservations are there, there are people who want to meet friends, even within two households and civilized from real dishes and not from plastic utensils, yes, and to raise a glass of beer or a glass of wine, “said the Swedish restaurant gate ”co-owner Agneta Sika.
To ensure the necessary requirements, cafe owners have found various solutions. Here – in the pub “Cuba Cafe” – walls are created between the tables.
“From the beginning, the room seemed to need a bit smaller walls, but in general it was comfortable – a breeze, we still needed old-fashioned telephone handsets … no, that’s the law – you have to listen – everything has to be disinfected, we don’t have to be to blame and they are cumulative at the top, ”said Arnis Bikšus, the owner of the pub“ Cuba Cafe ”.
Visitors who met on the terraces of Riga’s Old Town did not hide the joy of being able to sit at tables again.
“Very good feeling, we waited so long and finally sat down with a beer and that’s the best that could be today. No matter how bad the weather is today, we are happy, ”says Roman.
Although the terraces are quiet on May 7, in many places the reservations are filled by the middle of next week. The caterers express their readiness to comply with all the established requirements so that the work can continue after this weekend.
In Jūrmala, in the restaurant line 36, the phone rings without a myth. The chef says – today is a big day.-
“I want to congratulate all my colleagues on this day, on this date, when we can at least work on terraces, we can work on this portion on a real plate instead of a plastic or cardboard box, we have prepared, measured the distance, because we do not need unnecessary problems. There are a lot of reservations for Saturday and Sunday, in principle, I would say that there are no vacancies, because the number of seats – you see, it is less than usual – we write everything down and give each table an hour and a half, ”says the restaurant. line ”chef and co-owner Lauris Aleksejevs.
Caterers also encourage visitors to be understanding and to comply with all safety requirements.
“Opening a terrace has been a big financial investment – we can do everything ourselves – we are neither investors nor restaurants, so we very much hope that it will not be a short-term decision – to open terraces, otherwise we have lost a lot of money, Said the co-owner of the family restaurant “Swedish Gate”.
“The Latvian people are one of the most obedient and really everyone knows that 21 everything ends, then everything ends everywhere and there is no discussion, let’s go there again, sit down and, I think, in time there will be no problem,” says the restaurant “36. line ”chef and co-owner,
The calculations of the Hotel and Restaurant Association show that about 70% of the companies in the industry are ready to work on the terraces. Some have calculated that due to the fragile epidemiological situation, investing in opening terraces is currently risky.
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