The Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Lucas Palacios, together with the mayor of Las Condes, Joaquín Lavín, and the president of the Chilean Association of Gastronomy (Achiga), Máximo Picallo, gave the operation with an interior capacity of 25% to the restaurants, cafes and similar enclosures of the communes in phase 3 of the plan Paso a Paso del Gobierno.
The measure will allow restaurants and cafes to incorporate additional space into the terraces where they currently receive public, which will translate into better results for one of the industries most affected by the pandemic. It will also benefit locals in the southern part of the country, who have had greater difficulty receiving public on terraces due to weather conditions.
The owner of Economía, Lucas Palacios, highlighted that “step by step we have been taking care of ourselves and step by step our economy is also recovering. This measure is very important because it will allow countless small restaurants that do not have terraces, which do not have the possibility of gaining spaces on the street to put more tables, to serve the interior with 25% capacity as we have arranged, and there are also sectors of our country, in southern Chile, where it is colder , and often cannot be served in open spaces.”
The president of the Chilean Gastronomy Association (Achiga), Máximo Picallo, valued the resolution. “As a guild we appreciate that the Ministry of economy has welcomed the call we made that in phase 3 restaurants could also open their interiors with a smaller capacity. Because there are many places in the country where by weather the terraces do not work or also locals that do not have any choice of terrace, so from that point of view it seems to us that it is a measure that goes in the right direction, as well as that the curfew has been corrected,” he said.
In this way, from today, the enclosures will be able to serve the public inside their premises meeting the following sanitary requirements: 25% capacity, distance of 2 meters between tables, stay of 2 hours maximum and permanent ventilation. Compliance with regulations will be monitored by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Interior, in coordination with the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism.
In this context, the mayor of Las Condes, Joaquín Lavín, highlighted the authorization of the new capacity. “It is very good news for the restaurants of the commune, because it will allow them to serve more people. We will continue to support them with permits so that they can expand their premises in public spaces”, declared the building in the capital restaurant “La Cabrera”.
The portfolio holder took advantage of the instance to take a positive account of the reopening of the gastronomic premises, in the context of the Government’s Step-by-Step Plan.
“Almost 2,500 dining venues are already open in our country. That means generating about 17,500 jobs. We believe that with the measures we are announcing now we give a new push to this industry that has been so hit. If we add to that this week that the postponement of the start of curfew was authorized at 24 hours, that also means that the restaurants will be able to attend at meals, at night. And that represents, from eight o’clock at night onwards, 70% of restaurant sales. So it’s an additional push,” the Minister said.
