„Our clients stayed with us, we thank them and we are grateful for that, otherwise we could not survive during this period” – interview with Lukács Covaciu Cristina, the administrator of Belly Food from Târgu Secuiesc

Continuing our series of interviews, we asked the owners of the restaurants, pizzerias and fast food restaurants from Covasna and Târgu Secuiesc, how their business was affected by the measures taken due to the coronavirus, and how they managed to survive and exceed this period.

Would you tell us a little about the restaurant? When did you open, what kind of dishes do you have on the menu?

We opened at the end of summer 2015, in August. My husband took up this job in England, where he lived. He was a chef in London, where he learned and eventually began to love this profession, so from the beginning he knew that once he returns to the country, he would want to invest his money and knowledge here. We've been home for almost five years. We prepare from several types of meat, we use quality ingredients, but we also have vegetarian dishes - we are a restaurant specialized in burgers and handmade sandwiches.

How was your business affected by regulations introduced to reduce coronavirus infections? Was it hard to adapt to the new situation?

At first, this news was a shock. So, the first two weeks had frightening results, but we had to overcome this situation. We've had delivery so far, so it wasn't something unusual to our guests. What we needed to do was to reduce the operating hours a bit. Fortunately, our colleagues were very dynamic and open, so that with these changes things to go as well as possible.

What kind of regulations did you introduce?

In the first round, we introduced the option to pay by card to minimize the contact with the guests. The use of gloves and mask is a basic thing for us. We disinfect a lot. We are definitely looking to protect our guests and take great care of each other.

How do you see the future?

In my opinion, we are quite optimistic. We hope that what was harder has passed and that we will be able to see our customers at the tables soon. We are all looking forward to them, so we can talk to them in person, not just on the phone. Our clients stayed with us, we thank them and we are grateful for that, otherwise we could not survive during this period.