Catering enterprises in east China’s Jiangsu province are innovating and seeking changes in the face of adversities and showing a scene of accelerated recovery. Since the beginning of this year, COVID-19 has had a big impact on the catering industry.
As night fell, the Hubin Commercial Street of Wuxi ushered in the busiest moment of the day again with diners enjoying themselves amid the midsummer night breeze.
Zhang Shan, 36 years old, has been engaged in catering for nearly ten years. At the end of 2021, he came to Wuxi from Harbin to open this barbecue restaurant.
Affected by the epidemic, the restaurant business suffered a "cold winter" shortly after it opened.
"We think the epidemic is a very big difficulty but we are very confident," said Zhang.
After several rounds of covid-19 outbreaks, Zhang Shan has actively developed online marketing, made efforts in take-out delivery, and tried to improve the taste and quality of dishes.
He also gave full play to the advantages of digital resources, tapped brand potential through short videos and e-commerce live broadcast rooms, and launched targeted preferential packages to attract business.
"The commercial street management department gave us a three-month rent reduction of 200 thousand to 300 thousand yuan. At the same time we applied to the tax department for a tax deduction of more than 10 thousand yuan for this store which fully reduced our operating pressure," said Zhang.
The Commercial Street Management Department has implemented strict access thresholds for booths set up outdoors, requiring businesses to lay fire-proof and anti-fouling floor mats, and it is strictly forbidden to slaughter live poultry and barbecue in the open air.
"Our cleaning has been extended until 2:00 a.m. The block management department has a comprehensive law enforcement management team formed by the traffic police, the police station, the market supervision bureau, the ecological environment office, the urban management squadron and our property company," said Su Zhenfeng, Head of Wuxi Hubin Commercial Street.
