The crippling cost of booze ban
“This ban in December has been really tough. Our reserve funds are almost depleted.”
Local businesses dependent on the sale of alcohol to make a profit continue to suffer under the current ban on the sale of alcohol.
Restaurants, bars and liquor stores have reported a drop in revenue to ‘unimaginable lows’, while staff and owners continue to live in limbo as their day-to-day jobs hang on the line.
With some of the biggest companies struggling to stay afloat, it’s the small business owners that have had it the worst when it comes to financial losses due to the ban.
On what would usually have been a lunchtime rush, Van der Stel Pub and Grill was yet to serve its first customer on Tuesday.
Owner Dawie du Toit said it served as the perfect example of just how much of a handicap the ban on the sale of liquor has been to the industry.
Du Toit first opened the restaurant in 1996 before moving to its current location on the corner of Van der Hoff and Elsa streets. In the 25 years that he has been in charge he cannot think of a time as difficult as now.
“We are down to 19% of our usual turnover,” Du Toit said.
Before the initial outbreak of Covid-19, Du Toit and his staff would serve 500 customers per day. Now, he said, that number has dropped to less than 90. But it’s not only the customers that have gone.
Du Toit says Van der Stel Pub and Grill have lost R300 000 in revenue since the start of the ban on liquor sales.
“This adds up to a loss of around R10 000 per day,” Du Toit said.
“This ban in December has been really tough. Our reserve funds are almost depleted.
“My staff are also feeling it. They can only work two days a week now and are only earning about 22% of what they would have earned in a month.”
With little choice but to innovate Du Toit has had to think of new ways to generate revenue.
Van der Stel Pub and Grill has recently started a takeaway and delivery service to get more income from its kitchen. There are also daily meal specials on offer.
Despite this gaining popularity in the area, the massive decrease in foot traffic in the restaurant has posed the biggest challenge for Du Toit and his staff.
“Food doesn’t sell without liquor at a franchise like this. The two go hand-in-hand. A steak is always better with a beer or glass of wine on the side and this has led to the transactions at the restaurant being much shorter,” Du Toit said.
“People would sit down and have a few drinks before eating and maybe a few more after their meal. Now customers just order their takeaway and maybe drink a cold drink while it’s being prepared and then leave.”
Du Toit said he has seen similar businesses in the area struggle to keep their doors open since the ban was reintroduced in December. He said he had been fortunate to have a landlord that has been understanding of the situation while others have not been so lucky.
“Businesses like this are closing down all over. I have received job applications from people that worked at other restaurants and it hurts to see the desperation and pain in their eyes when they arrive and I tell them I can’t help them.”
With uncertainty over when the ban on the sale of alcohol will end, Du Toit said he hoped it would be sooner rather than later for the sake of his beloved Van der Stel Pub and Grill.
“We cannot survive on the sale of food alone. If this continues I don’t know if we will survive past February. Come March I might have to empty out the store.”
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