A third of Hungarian restaurants to go bankrupt due to the pandemic

According to Károly Gerendai, a successful entrepreneur of the industry, almost half of Hungarian restaurants could shut their businesses for good due to the pandemic. Other estimates talk about even higher and scarier numbers.

The Hungarian hospitality industry suffers dearly from the restrictions. All sectors have been in a very difficult situation, practically ever since the first wave of the coronavirus, but this particular sector and all those people working in it might suffer more in the long run. (By saying this, I do not give less importance to other sectors barely surviving, simply, this article talks about restaurants.)

Károly Gerendai, a restaurant owner, the creator of Sziget Festival, and the owner of Budapest Park and Akvárium Klub, among other companies, has quite a clear picture of the current situation in the sector, thanks to his far-reaching involvement. He thinks it is important to note that

this year will be the second season when all outside venues of entertainment can either not function at all or will be open under several and strong restrictions.

Many restaurants forced to close try to survive by widening their portfolio a bit and adapting to the situation, thus, most of them started home delivery. According to Gerendai,

40% of restaurants could close down for good and will not be able to revive after the end of the pandemic.

Even Fine Dining restaurants decided to do delivery; Gerendai and his restaurants, for example, offer the experience of going to your doorstep and cooking their menu in your kitchen, he said to atv. 

The unpredictability and the uncertainty of the situation cause physical tension as well, on top of the financial difficulties. Whether we talk about a smaller family business or a bigger company,

the livelihood of complete families with kids is at stake.

According to last March’s data issued by KSH, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, 52 thousand businesses were registered in the hospitality industry, be it restaurants, cafés, bigger bars of the capital, or small buffets at Lake Balaton. A lot of these businesses are smaller, family-owned restaurants or buffets, or the passion of a group of friends to provide a specific type of service. Their livelihood is strictly based on their personal, manual work and on their own savings.