Monthly Archives: May 2020

Ravi owner sells assets to keep Pakistani restaurant chain afloat

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Ravi owner Chaudary Abdul Hameed
Image Credit: Provided

Dubai: Pakistani restaurant chain Ravi is in dire financial straits, but the popular restaurant is not for sale and everything will be done to keep the business afloat, its managing director confirmed to Gulf News on Sunday.

“For the sake of our customers who have come to us and enjoyed our food, and in a country that has transformed my father from a worker to a restaurateur, we will do everything possible to make this continue,” said the General Manager Waheed Abdul. Hameed, the son of Chaudary Abdul Hameed, who started the business in 1978.

Like all restaurants in Dubai, Ravi closed during the 24-hour sterilization program and just reopened after Ramadan at reduced capacity.

Restaurant NAT Ravi 1 - 1590927655069

Ravi restaurant has three branches in Satwa, Karama and Al Nahda
Image Credit: Provided

“In accordance with government regulations, we opened one of the branches for dinner (at 30 percent capacity). The numbers are improving, but our books are far from good, ”said Waheed.

“We are doing everything we can to keep the restaurant running. We sell our assets for this. I have to pay my creditors. I was also forced to cut wages by 50 percent. While I don’t want to let them go, some of my staff want to go home. It is a difficult situation. But we will bounce back for sure, ”he said.

“Our delivery business alone will not run our restaurant. The dinner has to start at full capacity, otherwise we will not be able to cover the salaries of more than seventy staff in addition to handling other expenses, ”he added.

He said the biggest expense was rent.

When asked why the family wanted to keep the restaurant, he added, “It’s our bread and butter. The Ravi restaurant transformed my blue-collar father into a restaurateur. The love of the people who have flocked to our restaurant for our authentic Pakistani cuisine cannot be forgotten. The land and people of UAE poured out their love on my father, we cannot leave him and go like this. We are here to fight the situation in the right way possible, ”he added.


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Has the lockdown made people fall in love with restaurant food? This survey says so

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Locked up for almost two months, we learned to appreciate home cooking. Many discover their love for cooking, and many more learn to cook to survive. Regardless, the Indians seemed to have gotten used to eating at home, at least for now.

While it’s hard to beat the experience of dining out and indulging in a delicious meal, a majority of Indians surveyed by LocalCircles, a community social platform, said they would not visit their restaurant. favorite in their city for the next 30 days, even though it was open.

74% of the 24,000 survey respondents said they would avoid dining out for fear of contracting the virus, not wanting to spend for the sake of eating out.

The survey, conducted in 232 Indian districts, also found that 25% of people are likely to order food from food delivery apps in the next 30 days, with the highest number of respondents passing easily. their restaurant orders, limiting them to 1 or 2 deliveries. (16 percent). Less than 3% of them said they would order more than four times.

65% said they would not order food from the restaurant for delivery, while 10% of those surveyed were not sure what they would do.

The F&B industry has not seen any restaurant activity since the lockdown began. Among the government relaxations under Lockdown 4.0, restaurants continued to be allowed to operate delivery services, while food services were to remain closed.

Food delivery start-ups, including Zomato and Swiggy, have seen their orders drop by more than 70% since the end of March. Both start-ups have ventured into non-core businesses such as delivering essential items to some extent to fill the shortfall.

According to the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, nearly 70% of hotels and restaurants in India could close within the next 30-45 days due to strict government regulations and reduced consumer interest.

First publication: STI


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Arizona restaurant chain struggles to staff as jobless claims soar |

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The owners say it’s because of all the jobless claims.



PHOENIX, AZ (3TV / CBS 5) – In Arizona, about 33,000 people applied for unemployment benefits last week. More than 500,000 have filed for unemployment in the past eight weeks. Nationwide, 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past two months, but despite the growing number of jobless claims, some small businesses in Arizona are struggling to hire workers.






“With an unemployment rate of almost 20%, you would think we would have a lot of applicants, but we don’t,” said Paullette Cano, owner of Italian restaurant Times Square.

Arizonans still face many issues with the state's unemployment system

Many Arizonans receiving unemployment benefits did not receive federal pandemic unemployment compensation – $ 600 – as expected.

Cano said it was because of the federal CARES law, which adds $ 600 per week on top of the state unemployment check. Cano said his employees on leave told him they made more money staying at home than working at his restaurant.

“They don’t want to come back to work,” Cano said. “It’s unemployment. They get about $ 840 a week, which gives them about $ 22 an hour.”

Times Square has more than 30 openings as they laid off dozens of positions at their three restaurants after Gov. Doug Ducey shut down businesses to stop the spread of COVID-19. Their dining room is open to customers again, but their restaurants are understaffed. Additionally, if Cano cannot rehire the same number of employees that it once had, its Paycheck Protection Program loan will not be canceled.

“You want to hire, and they just don’t come out the door,” Cano said. She said the few who apply for jobs ask for more than $ 20 an hour, a salary equal to what they would receive in unemployment and federal dollars.

“They charge $ 20 an hour, which makes it difficult because we operate on low margins,” Cano said.

The federal CARES law, which grants an additional $ 600 per week, is set to expire on July 31. Washington DC lawmakers are in talks about a new federal relief package. Until then and beyond, Cano has been told to stop by one of his three locations and apply for a job.

“For our country to get back to work, employees have to get back to work,” Cano said.


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