Businesses are in danger because of the Covid-19 restrictions
On the 5th of December, the Basque Country government decided to shut down all the hostelry businesses. It was an unexpected decision, they didn’t previously warn these businesses or give them time to sell the goods they had already bought. The day they announced this was a Friday, so a lot of businesses lost a lot of money and the goods they had planned on selling. A month later, they have decided to reopen the bars in the towns where there were below 500 cases from 100.000.
Two sisters, Mari Jose and Raquel Ayuso Escribano run a bar called Imara in Arrigorriaga, which is one of the few towns that couldn't reopen because there were too many infected. They have had their business for 27 years and they had never imagined that they would live in a situation like this. “We have 7 employees and were very scared for what was coming ”, said Mari Jose. “If we happen to retire or to close the bar, we would have to pay them an indemnification, and with all the years that our employees have been working here, it's a lot of money” she added.
The businesses, even if they are closed, they still need to pay rent. In the case of the Imara, they have had the luck that the owner of their establishment has “forgiven” them the rent for the months when they couldn’t work. According to Raquel, they wouldn't have been able to keep the business going if they had to pay rent. For the terraces also, the town hall of Arrigorriaga has lent them more space for free. “If they hadn't lent us more space, it wouldn't have been profitable to open the bar”, stated Mari Jose. “But it is also true that some bars that didn't have terraces before, have impressive terraces now, and there is no space between tables. We should take into account the safety too”, she added.
“Have we lost clients? Yes. Well, better times will come, but the reward is not coming from anywhere either”- Mari Jose Ayuso Escribano, co-owner of the Imara
As there have been some bars that have tried to keep their establishment safe, there are others that have only thought about making as much money as they could, not thinking of the consequences. Mari Jose stated that an expert from the department of health went to each bar to explain to them how things should be done, what things were accepted and what things weren't. “They should have come in a sanctioning form too, but as they haven't, every owner has done what he/she wanted, and here we are, closed”, she claimed.
One of the things that were not accepted, was to play cards. The Imara had a very faithful group that went there just to play, but as the Imara didn't let them play cards because of covid, they decided to go to another bar that did let them. So now, Imara has lost these clients. “They even ended up testing positive, they went through the illness fairly well but they did transmit it to one another”, remarked Mari Jose.
They should have paid attention
The municipalities, it seems, haven't been doing their job as they should have. Raquel stated that in a meeting before reopening the bar, after lockdown, she understood that the bathrooms couldn't be opened because of Covid, so when they opened the bar they closed the bathrooms. A week later the municipalities showed up in the bar saying that they had to open the bathroom or that they would fine them. Raquel explained herself and they worked things out.
It would look like the municipalities were doing a great job, but Mari Jose had another story to tell: “The municipalities have turned a blind eye on a lot of things. When we first opened after lockdown, we saw a group of teenagers get into the local pool every night. Our clients called the municipalities but they never came ”. Apparently, this wasn't the only time when they looked the other way. After a long, long time, the municipalities went to the bar where the card-playing group went to, and they told them that if they didn’t stop, they would have to be fined. “If they knew that they had been doing it for such a long time, they should have been fined right then”, remarked Mari Jose.
Mari Jose and Raquel have tried to keep their clients safe ever since they reopened the bar, but this has made them feel frustrated and sad. In a football match, they had all the tables keeping the distance but they couldn't let a lot of people inside the bar. They knew that other bars were full, but they didn't want anyone to get the virus in their establishment. “Have we lost clients? Yes. Well, better times will come, but the reward is not coming from anywhere either”, declared Mari Jose.
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“We have lost clients for being “too strict” but we knew that we were doing the right thing”
Arantxa Benito Cerrato·Waitress in the Imara
Arantxa is from Arrigorriaga and a waitress in the bar Imara. She has been in the hostelry business her whole life but she has been working in the Imara for only 5 years. Her life has been turned upside down because of this pandemic.
Arantxa, how did you do on lockdown economically?
Economically I have been doing badly. I have been fortunate that I have been paid the Record of Temporary Employment Regulation. The first time I was paid a month and a half later but I still had to make use of my savings and if I didn't have those savings and if we hadn't opened the bar in summer I would be in debt. In fact, I can only make use of my savings for one more month, after that… If this goes on I'm going to have to ask for help from my family.
Have you ever witnessed irresponsible behavior from clients?
We have lost clients for being “too strict” but we have always consulted our doubts to the department of health and we knew that we were doing the right thing. We have acted like police officers in our own bar and it has been unpleasant to tell people what they couldn't do.
“I would get the vaccine just to go back to the life we had before”
How did you feel when they decided to close the hostelry?
At first, I was in disbelief and I kept thinking about the goods we already had bought. Having a bar is more than serving coffees, you also have to foresee what you are going to need the next day. So all the goods that we had already bought were sent to Caritas. At first, I thought: Well 15 days isn't that bad, but 15 days turned into 2 months. It is chaos and an economical waste that people don't notice. One thing is not to earn money, and another is to lose money.
How are you surviving this pandemic emotionally?
This time should be better because we can go out but I feel the same way. I barely go out because I don't feel like it. I'm not even excited for Christmas. The years before I got really excited but this time, I feel like there is nothing to celebrate. I would get the vaccine just to go back to the life we had before.
We have just had a meeting in the town hall and they think that it makes no sense the fact that we are closed and the rest open because people still gather in other places. There are going to be some mobilizations to warn and to make some noise because we want to be taken into account, this is going too far.
Source: The Side. The mobilization of hostelry commerces.
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