The gastronomy in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania suffers from several burdens. In the medium and long term, the industry will have to get used to higher costs and fewer staff.
Schwerin (dpa / mv) – The hotel and restaurant association Dehoga in the northeast looks to the year 2022 with mixed feelings and expects numerous company closures in 2023. “It will definitely be a two-digit percentage and I personally would be satisfied if there was only one 1 in front,” said Dehoga President Lars Schwarz of the German Press Agency.
The aid programs – especially in the wake of the corona pandemic – were effective, especially in retaining the workforce. “There were hardly any companies that actively had to lay off employees,” he said. Overall, the industry in the state lost fewer skilled workers than in other federal states in the pandemic.
Nevertheless, according to Schwarz, gastronomy in particular will have to adjust to a lower supply of labor in the future. According to him, the restaurants and cafés must therefore intelligently limit their opening times. “In the best case, the guest doesn’t even notice it,” says the restaurateur. This is the only way to keep the quality at a high level.
With a view to the start of the energy price brakes at the turn of the year, Dehoga did not give the electricity price cap good marks: “I know almost no one who pays 40 cents,” Schwarz made clear. The gas price brake, on the other hand, helps to cushion the rise in energy costs, with many companies in the industry – especially in rural areas – heating with oil. These are the weakest links in the chain.
According to the information, the overall picture includes, above all, the burden of increased purchase prices for food and services. Prices have risen significantly throughout the supply chain – at the end of which are the restaurants. The problem is that these increased costs can only be passed on to customer prices to a limited extent: Schwarz referred to current surveys, according to which citizens are already focusing on spending on gastronomy for personal savings efforts.
