After the pandemic, the restaurant business in Baku has started to recover. It is impossible to find a place in public catering facilities operating in the city center. Some restaurants even impose a time limit on customers to avoid overcrowding.
The development in this field is also confirmed by the report of the State Statistics Committee. It is reported that in September 2023, the population of Azerbaijan spent 169 million 597 thousand manats on cafes and restaurants. The volume of this indicator is 33.9 million manats more than in September last year.
I wonder what this increase is indicative of? Has the habit of having lunch and dinner in a restaurant also started to form among our people? In general, how is the future of this field predicted?
“Kaspi” newspaper talked to restaurant owners and experts to find answers to questions.
Modern youth is changing the food culture
Marketing and business management specialist Anar Zeynalov says that the primary reason for the increase in money paid to restaurants is that payments are made directly to the cash register: “Before, restaurants were working and receipts were not issued. In the regions, they generally wrote the price on paper. Now that there is transparency, the numbers are increasing. In addition, the increase in the price of food products also affects the numbers. Restaurants and hotels are opening in the regions of Baku. Therefore, it is normal for this number to increase by 20-25 percent in a year.”
In recent years, the tradition of breakfast in restaurants is one of the noteworthy nuances. Especially on weekends, it is impossible to find a place for breakfast without a reservation. The expert says that the trend changes every year: “For example, five years ago it was difficult to find coffee shops in Azerbaijan, now they are everywhere. Despite the fact that we are a tea-drinking nation, people have already formed a coffee culture. Breakfast as well. For example, before that, it was not in our mentality to go to breakfast. But now there is demand in the market. The new generation develops these trends. When we say to most of our parents that we should go out for breakfast, they will say that we have it at home, so why eat out. Modern youth does not think like that and is changing this habit.”
“People never run out of fun”
As for the future of this field, the expert emphasizes that one of the biggest businesses in the world is the restaurant business: “People never miss their entertainment. It’s not just about the food, the leisure time spent there is also important. The main trend at the moment is healthy food. People are moving away from the once popular “fast food” and towards healthy food. Therefore, the future of the restaurant business in our country is great.”
But what do restaurant owners think?
Turkhan Alizadeh, a chain of restaurants confirms that this year its turnover was better than last year: “Pandemic, war period, sickness of employees had a serious impact on us. The trend is slowly developing. Previously, we had 10 tables, but now we have increased it to 15. Or, if our pizza machines could cook 10 pieces before, now they cook 20 pieces. This, of course, increased the turnover.”
As for the development of the sector, the young entrepreneur says that there is a demand, but it is difficult to find professional employees in this field: “For example, 95 percent of our employees who want to work as waiters are young and see the work as a temporary job. Abroad, people in their 40s and 50s work in this field. And we are ashamed of it. The reason is not income, because professionals make very good money. For example, they have been working abroad for 10 years, and they are also mentors to newly arrived staff. This is the biggest problem in restaurant culture.”
As for the future of the restaurant business, our interlocutor says that this field is one of the best in our country: “We are a nation that loves to eat, drink and have fun. Therefore, the development of this field and the formation of culture are inevitable.”
There is a 10-12 percent increase in the number of people applying to the restaurant
Fikret Khalilov, the owner of one of the famous restaurants in Baku and says that September is the growth month of public catering business: “Passivity is observed in June, July, August in this business. Because it is the summer months, people move to the gardens and go to the regions. In September, everyone returns and this activity is natural.”
The expert also stated that there was a 10-12 percent increase in the number of people applying to the restaurant compared to 2019: “The installation of electronic cash registers and the preference of the population for non-cash payments automatically led to the transparency of business.”
We are observing the transition to the Western family model
Chairman of the Management Board of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Azerbaijan, Samir Dubendi in his statement to our newspaper, he said that recently we are observing the formation of the restaurant culture of the population, the transition to the western family model: “Our families also refuse to cook at home and go to restaurants. On the other hand, Azerbaijan is already a well-known tourist destination. The main service that a person on a trip receives is food. The restaurant business has undergone many transformations in recent years. For example, meat for steak is imported from Brazil and Europe. About 15 years ago, our restaurants were against it and used our own meat. Later it became known that the animal is specially bred for steak. Now there are famous steak places in Baku.”
One billion 300 million turnover
The expert emphasizes that the turnover of the public catering sector was twice as much as the combined turnover of hotels and tourism agencies compared to the years before the pandemic: “The estimated turnover of public catering during the year varied between 1 billion 200 million and 1 billion 300 million. We are currently witnessing both the development of the restaurant business and the formation of public catering culture.” (“Kaspi” newspaper)
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