RESTAURANT BUSINESS DURING THE WAR

Abstract

The article discusses the current state of the restaurant industry. The main critical changes in the external and internal environment of hospitality enterprises are identified. The effects of the war on the restaurant business are determined. The work of the scientific community on issues related to the activities of enterprises in the restaurant industry was studied. This was the basis for determining the goal and task of scientific research. The article provides an assessment of the scientific vision of "survival" of restaurant enterprises. The prerequisites for the application of each hypothesis have been defined and it has been established that in the modern crisis conditions, restaurant enterprises are in the first place. Already by May, according to preliminary estimates, more than half of the pre-war number of restaurants and cafes opened in the country. The recovery process is uneven: it is less visible in the hard-hit Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, as well as in the Kyiv region, while the capital is actively trying to make up for lost ground. Coffee shops, small bakeries and, surprisingly, relatively stable restaurants of the luxury segment were in the most advantageous position, since they need a smaller flow of visitors to be self-sustaining from the very beginning. Analyzed statistics of the number of working enterprises of the hospitality industry at the beginning of the war. Examples of restaurants that opened at the beginning of the war in the West of our country, in particular in Lviv, are given. It can be said that Lviv has become the restaurant capital of the hospitality industry, because only in the spring about 500 food establishments opened. Some institutions moved from the East of the country together with their staff, others opened in order to somehow survive during the war and not go bankrupt. There are also examples of catering establishments that have turned their establishments into centers for volunteer assistance. Factors that have a negative impact on restaurants were analyzed, including a lack of personnel, a decrease in revenue due to a decrease in the number of guests, a decrease in the hours of operation of restaurants due to a curfew, an increase in the price or unavailability of some products and, accordingly, a decrease in menu items.