Passage to Asia restaurant hints at closure of branch

Owner of the Passage to Asia restaurant Dipchand Persad said he may have to close one of his outlets if government does not reopen the industry soon.

He told Newsday on Wednesday that holding on to the restaurant on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, Port of Spain, has become difficult.

Restaurants were ordered to stop in-house dining on April 15, and by April 30 all restaurants were ordered to close because of the covid19 pandemic and restrictions to curb its spread.

Persad said, “Rent per month has been $15,000 plus VAT and we have not had an income for the past three months. Added to this, there were still utility fees such as water and electricity to be paid.

“I can hold on to the branch in Chaguanas, because I am currently paying $105,000 mortage every month for the property, without any revenue, but I am trying."

He said the restaurants lost a lot during the closure and were unable to get any assistance from the government.

Persad said the complete closure of the industry was unfair and hoped curbside pick-up and deliveries would be allowed to give owners and their workers a chance to earn an income.

“I don’t think the restaurants should have been closed entirely. Curbside pick-up should have remained because people coming to collect food would not have all been there at once. Even all the food apps and delivery services cannot operate, and this I found was unfair."

Curbside delivery, he said, did not have the impact of gatherings in groceries, banks or a pharmacy.”

Persad added, however, that fully reopening now would not be appropriate, and businesses do not have the funds to return to where they were.

“I hope that they only do takeaway and curbside pickup for now, until everyone is fully vaccinated. Even if they reopened fully, restaurants still will not have a full complement of staff, food stock, and beverages to operate.

“I do not anticipate people will come out for full dining because of economic challenges.”

Persad also hoped government would extend work permits without additional costs, as all of his chefs were from India.

Earlier this week, founder and chef Khalid Mohammed of St Ann's Chaud Restaurant announced its closure on its Facebook page.