'Even if the pandemic ended today, it would take us two years to pay our debts'

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Bars and taverns (meyhane) that don't have a cafe license have been closed for a year now because of the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike other places, they were not allowed to open during periods of reopening.

Lütfi Duran, who has been running a bar in İstanbul's Asian-side district of Kadıköy since 2009, says that they have no plans for the future anymore: "If the pandemic is over today, we will pay off the loans we took for at least two years."

"I love this place, its employees and customers," he says.

"We are trying to hold on to one another"

After some places opened in June last year, they had expectations but then learned that businesses that sell alcoholic beverages would be exempt from the reopening, says Duran: "For this reason, we thought about making an application for a cafe license but it was announced that license changes as of June would not be valid. So, venues have been closed for over a year."

As for employees, he says, "Two of our employees had to close their homes and move to their families' homes. One changed the province, he is not in İstanbul anymore.

"As business owners can't see their future, they can't make plans either. We are trying to hold on to one another but we don't know what to do. We are drained from borrowing money from friends and family. Even if the pandemic ends, we will pay our debts for at least two years."

No assistance other than the short time work allowance

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on March 29 that businesses such as cafes and restaurants will be restricted to delivery and takeaway services during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The businesses that have a bar license have been completely closed since March 16, 2020.

Cafes, which are currently allowed to stay open until 7 p.m., have not been doing well anyway, Duran says: "It was hard to understand which place was closed and which was open. Now all of them are going to close.

"There is no point of quarreling with people's bread and butter this much. I'm not married, I don't have children, I get by somehow but those who have a family are deep in debt. Apparently, we'll wait to starve...

"We don't have a plan for the future. One year after or one month after from now is uncertain. In this environment, we are ashamed to even say, 'Why don't you open bars?'

"The state exists to make things easy for us in such periods of time. Okay, let them stay closed if necessary, but businesses have costs even when they are closed.

"They say 'assistance' but we have not received any assistance other than the short-time work allowance. Moreover, there is no point in giving one-time assistance of 1,000 lira to a business the rent of which is 12,000 lira."

"More difficult times await employees"

Duran has also prepared a video to explain the hardships faced by the business owners and employees in the sector.

"The bars, which were closed on March 16, 2020, have not yet opened, were not included in the 'normalization' packages," says the video.

"Some employees in the sector closed their homes and moved back to their families' homes, some left the cities they lived in and settled in cities where they can live on with less money.

"The inadequacy of the initiatives such as the short-time work allowance and shopkeeper support packages put not only employees but also business owners into a difficult situation. The sector was excluded from such packages anyway.

"Not only business owners and employees, but also the street animals they take care of have been affected.

"Among different businesses that do the same job, those who have the word 'cafe' or 'restaurant' along with 'bar' are allowed to work. But some businesses that obtained a cafe license were closed anyway.

"The short-time work allowance has ended as of March 2021 but there is still no permission for the opening of bars. The closure of bars has also negatively affected the shopkeepers around.

"The inadequacy of regulations and such businesses being ignored by the authorities indicate that more difficult times await the sector employees." (AS/VK)