- How internationally-themed restaurants are faring with the times
With the current shortage of gas, many of us have found ourselves with an empty cylinder – no way to cook and no way to refill it either. As a result, we have had to turn to trusty restaurants to be able to feed ourselves, despite not being able to afford it – only to be told that they too are just barely managing to stay open as the lack of gas, ingredients, and power makes it almost impossible to run a business.
Brunch decided to speak to a few restaurants that specialise in certain cuisines to see how they’ve been managing to make dishes that are mostly based on imported items.
‘Most of our ingredients have gone up in price so we’ve had to increase prices’ – Kami Maki management
The management of Japanese restaurant Kami Maki noted that while they had experienced difficulty sourcing ingredients, they had not compromised on products or quality. “One of the keys to our success is not cutting corners and delivering the best to our customers despite obstacles,” he stated.
They also informed Brunch that they had indeed been affected by fuel shortages, and therefore had been forced to pre-plan their week and make changes to continuously operate. “We have been lucky so far; we are able to remain open and continue to do so uninterrupted,” the management said.
Speaking of changes to the menu, taking into consideration the lack of certain ingredients that are essential in Japanese cuisine, the management shared that it had not removed any items from the menu. “We have however made a small 10% change to pricing – the first time since 2020. This is because most of our items have gone up in price and are import-based, so we were left with no choice,” he said.
‘We have to decide on whether to compromise on quality or quantity every day’ – Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant founder
The founder of a popular Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant, who asked to remain anonymous, told Brunch that restaurant owners too were struggling with both gas shortages and ingredient shortages. “We live by the day – we get a small cylinder and manage for two days and then try to buy more,” he explained, adding that although they had a regular gas delivery service, more often than not the supplier would say they were unable to make it. He added that sometimes they were forced to pay extra to guarantee a cylinder. There have even been times when the restaurant staff have had to resort to bringing gas cylinders from home to survive the day until they acquire a new one.
He also pointed out that if sellers were to perceive an impending shortage, they would hoard goods and eventually sell them at a much higher price, which would in term affect the restaurant’s income. “I understand the importers raising prices since they buy on credit, but at a point our regular suppliers stopped selling as well and we had to send people to stand in lines for ingredients and gas,” he revealed.
They have also been forced to rework their menu several times; the Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant is renowned for lamb and beef – both of which had to be completely taken off the menu. “From when we started, lamb prices have increased by 250%, so if I were to sell, it would be over Rs. 2,000 which no one will buy. Since it’s perishable, there would be no point keeping it in stock,” he explained, adding that beef was just no longer readily available.
In terms of increasing prices, he told us that every week there had to be a price evaluation which directly correlated with the number of customers they saw. As prices increased, their customers also dropped off, which now had them in a pickle. “Until the shortages and therefore the prices stabilise, it will be very hectic for us to keep up with our brand value,” he stated, adding that they had to decide whether to compromise on quality or quantity.
‘We can’t afford to stick to standards as even for substandard ingredients, we are paying four times the price’ – Indian restaurant owner Khushru Mistry
The owner of a well-known Indian restaurant, Khushru Mistry lamented that prices had gone up, ingredients were not available, and there was no gas, no power and no diesel to power the generator. “Everybody is affected; we have to go on as business cannot stop. Every day we request gas and look for ingredients; every day there is a fight for diesel and gas; sometimes rice and chicken aren’t available in the market so we are indeed facing a crisis,” he stated.
Speaking about the lack of certain ingredients that had to be imported, Mistry told us that they ended up having to take entire dishes off the menu. “Depending on what’s available, we tell our customers that a certain dish is not on the menu today,” he told Brunch, adding that every day, the menu differed. He further explained that when certain ingredients were not available, they used whatever was available as a substitute to try their best to keep most items on the menu.
“We can no longer afford to stick to standards because even for substandard ingredients and produce, we are paying four times the price of what it was, and we cannot keep changing our prices,” Mistry said. He added that customers wanted a perception of value, quality, and service and unfortunately they did not realise what goes on outside the gates and were shocked at the increases in prices.
He also added that they currently had a stock of authentic Indian spices, but the shelf life of these spices was a little over 100 days and they were unsure of what would happen once the shelf life was up and the ingredients weren’t available anymore, adding, “We’ll have to rely on local spices, I guess.”
When asked if they found the current situation to be worse or as bad as during the pandemic, he explained that they had only started operations during the latter part of the pandemic because the lockdowns meant restaurants were shut. Eventually, with delivery services being permitted to operate, they had been able to get back into business, but he added that it was hard to gauge how bad the situation was now in comparison to then.
“We are lucky that we haven’t had to stop operations so far, but it’s a touch-and-go situation. We’ve had days where we ran out of gas or ingredients and luckily it was towards the end of the day.”
It seems that most restaurants – regardless of if they’re based on local or international ingredients – are all just looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, a tunnel that, at present, seems very long and dark as the country appears to plummet further into crisis.
Sri Lanka is currently navigating one of its most severe economic crises to date and with citizens crying out for basic necessities and utilities, most people are simply taking it a day at a time. We can only hope that the situation returns to normal or as close as it can to normal as quickly as possible.
