Restaurants expect to reopen by mid-June

EDİRNE

Restaurant owners in Turkey are expecting to reopen their venues in mid-June after a suspension of more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the head of an association has said.

“The restaurants and other enterprises will reopen with distress. Restaurants could reopen until June 15. They were shut by an executive order of the Interior Ministry and we will reopen in accordance with a circular of the Culture and Tourism Ministry,” said Kaya Demirer, head of the Tourism and Restaurant Investors Association (TÜRYİD), in a video conference meeting on May 25.

“Reopening will of course be gradual. The human health criteria determined by the Health Ministry will be followed,” he added.

The minimum distance between tables has to be 150 centimeters, and chairs 60 centimeters in a restaurant, according to Demirer.

“We have to implement these rules for a period of time. As the pandemic slows down, the rules will be eased,” he said.

There are some 100,000 restaurants and eateries across Turkey, he added, and every one of the operators and staff members has to show great responsibility amid the pandemic, said the TÜRYİD head.

Meanwhile, the new gastronomy trends will be simplicity and back-to-basics, said Cem Kınay, a tourism expert and organizer of the event.