“The table is full after a long time”… The first day of in-store drinking allowed, a refreshing cafe

Input 2021.01.18 15:48 | Revision 2021.01.18 15:51

“When the store was not seated and allowed only to sell, there were few customers even if the door was opened early. Today, customers gathered from early in the morning, and the table was full when lunch time came.”

A private cafe in Gangseo-gu, Seoul at 1 pm on the 18th. The president, Mr. Choi, 35, said, looking around the crowded customers inside the store. He said, “It was a taste of death because customers were cut off during the period when the use of the store was banned.”

As the government eased some of the coronavirus infection prevention regulations on the 17th, cafes in the metropolitan area, where only packaging and delivery sales were allowed for a while, were allowed to eat in stores from this day. As a result, cafe owners, who had suffered from a decrease in sales, were relieved.

Citizens who did not have a place to stay after a meal for a while also welcomed their eating in the cafe. Kim Mo (27), who visited a franchise cafe in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, said, “Before I got on the train, I didn’t have a good place to go, but I was fortunate to have a cup of hot coffee to melt my body. “I will.”

Freelancer Choi Mo (30) said, “I opened the cafe door to make an appointment for lunch. When eating in the store was forbidden, there wasn’t a good place to go after eating, but there were many times when I had a long time left until the next appointment.”

However, the quarantine authorities recommended limiting the time spent in the store to one hour if more than one visitor visits the cafe. In a cafe, you have to float the tables one by one, or use only 50% of the seats and leave a 1 meter distance between the tables or install partitions.

As a result, cafe owners feared that they could have conflict with customers due to the conditions of the one-hour use limit of two or more. “If you go directly to the customer saying that 1 hour has elapsed, friction can occur, so we are broadcasting the usage time every 30 minutes,” said Goo Goo-soo, president of the National Cafe Presidents Association. “If a confirmed person goes to the store, it can be hit again. Because there is, I will try to do business while following the quarantine rules as much as possible.”

Mr. Jang Mo (42), the president of a cafe who runs a private cafe in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, said, “It is fortunate that it is possible to eat in the store, but it will take time to recover enough to call for part-time students.” , When two people come and make a recommendation, each one occupies the table and sits down, it seems difficult to warn anymore.”

Cafe owners also argued that compensation for damages for not being able to operate properly for nearly two months apart from being allowed to eat in the store was necessary. On the 14th, the National Federation of Cafe Presidents filed a lawsuit against the government in the Seoul Central District Act to claim damages of about 1.8 billion won. 358 people participated in the first lawsuit and claimed 5 million won per person.

Chairman Ko said, “We will continue to conduct class action lawsuits against the government,” he said. “I hope that not only the cafe industry, but also self-employed people who are struggling, can quickly provide appropriate compensation measures in the form of’disaster compensation funds’ rather than’disaster subsidies’.” .