Overview of the Russian restaurant industry

This was what they were afraid of and expected: restaurants were hit by a second wave of difficulties. The number of cases began to grow inexorably back in September, and many countries introduced another quarantine, of course this caused a lot of unrest in the industry. With the introduction of new restrictive measures in Russia, two main questions arose: can domestic business survive and what can help it?

According to the famous entrepreneur Evgeny Chichvarkin (former co-owner of Euroset, now owns a restaurant in London), he will be able to restore his business in about two years, if there is no second lockdown, and in the worst case scenario, he will need 5 years.

Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at BCS Global Markets, believes this: “There are two main scenarios. A little more optimistic: by the middle of next year we will have largely passed all the negative economic consequences of the crisis caused by the quarantine, and in the first half of next year the pandemic will fade away. And more pessimistic: the same results, but at the end of next year, maybe at the beginning of 2022.” He also notes that the Russian economy as a whole is likely to be able to withstand the coming fall in demand for commodities. However, for the service sector, trade and public catering, which have not yet had time to properly recover after the last quarantine, further restrictive measures could become a serious problem.

Over the past few years, the restaurant business in Russia has been actively developing, and this long-term sustainable growth has made it possible to at least partially compensate for current losses and stagnation. “It’s quite difficult to talk about a complete recovery now,” notes Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov. But at the same time, he notes that during the weakening of the pandemic, the demand for catering services has increased significantly, although not to its full extent.

According to the expert, significant assistance to the restaurant business can be provided by changes in the legislative acts of the Russian Federation regulating their activities and related areas of life. Rospotrebnadzor is already actively transforming SanPiNs: the changes concern impossible requirements in sanitary rules, the second goal is to make them simple and understandable for the business community.

The pandemic has exposed other problems hampering the foodservice industry's growth. The current OKVED requires reforms and updating so that restaurants can conduct distance selling of dishes, independently develop their own delivery services, etc., as chain stores do now. Work towards adjusting the legislation has already begun, and such efficiency sets an optimistic mood.

The market downturn caused by the pandemic has hit small businesses the hardest, while large fast food chains and high-end restaurants with their own chefs and kitchens have suffered the least. For example, the Moscow-Novosibirsk restaurateur Denis Ivanov (Krombacher Beer Kitchen, “#SiberiaSiberia”, “KU: Ramen Izakaya Bar”, etc.) saw sales in the capital decrease by only 4%, and in Novosibirsk in general by only 2%.

Perhaps the calmest attitude towards the current state of affairs was expressed by Galina Duving: “Our business is to feed people live, delicious, fresh food. What should we do if we are closed again? Nothing - rest." And on our own behalf, we will add that there are always ways of development beyond our usual ideas, and we will try to find them with you together.