Many Gaya Street eateries have closed
KOTA KINABALU: Around 20 percent of coffee shops registered with the Sabah West Coast Coffee Shop Association have temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The association has more than 300 members in the west coast.
Its chairman Yong Chee Yun said some members have decided to cease their business temporarily as they could no longer sustain with the drastic drop in revenue.
“There is hardly any business nowadays, yet coffee shop operators have to pay rent and workers’ salaries.”
He said many coffee shops at Gaya Street have closed as they could not cope with the high rental.
“Even if the shop owners at Gaya Street offer to reduce the rental fee, it is very difficult for coffee shops to stay afloat, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed since March 18.”
Yong said business had actually improved during June and July as customers had returned to dine-in at coffee shops.
However, he said customers once again avoided dining in or purchased food to go when the number of positive Covid-19 cases surged after September.
“It is truly hard for everyone when the Covid-19 vaccine is still unavailable,” he lamented.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic had undoubtedly taken a heavy toll on eateries.
Even after the government allowed dine-in on November 11 during the current Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), he said the revenue of coffee shops had only increased by about 30 percent as only a limited number of tables could be placed and only two persons were allowed to sit at a table for four, or half the table capacity, to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Besides, he said majority of customers preferred takeaway than dining-in as they were worried about contracting Covid-19.
“Perhaps things will start to look up when the Covid-19 cases drop. Otherwise, we will be in trouble.”
On another note, Yong said the Sabah West Coast Coffee Shop Association has disbursed RM60,000 of financial aid to its members for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) back in September.
“Each member received RM200, which they could use to purchase face masks and hand sanitizers.”
Meanwhile, Kedai Kopi Yee Fung owner, Cheng Chew Wang, said revenue has rebounded by 20 to 30 percent since the premises resumed dinein services five days ago on November 13.
In order to comply with the SOP, he said the seats at the premises had to be reduced by around 70 percent and only a limited number of patrons were allowed in the coffee shop at any one time.
“Our revenue now is only about 40 to 50 percent of our business during normal operating hours.”
He said the coffee shop has taken precautions and was fully complying with the government’s SOPs as Covid-19 is still raging on.
Cheng said he only provided 28 seats for dine-in patrons, which helped improve revenue by about 20 to 30 percent yet still up to 60 percent less than what the coffee shop used to earn during normal times.
At the same time, he also limited the number of employees at the premises.
“We only instructed 25 percent of our employees to return to work.”
Nevertheless, he said business was looking up since the premises resumed dine-in services last Friday.
He added that the Food Panda and Grab Food services have helped boost his revenue by eight to 10 percent.