In Costa Rica, a bill to give the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce the power to determine the maximum commissions and amounts that may be charged by digital platforms such as UberEats, Glovo, Rappi and Hugo was presented.
In Costa Rica, the new commercial reality requires restaurants to operate with a capacity of 50%; however, since they maintain the same level of fixed costs, the losses of this sector could exceed 20%.
For more than four months, when the first cases of covid-19 were reported in the country, consumers have been subjected to severe restrictions on mobility and restaurants were forced to operate in conditions unfavorable to their finances.
With the boom in demand for food delivery, Costa Rican restaurant owners claim that their companies have given up part of the profits to assume the costs of making alliances with delivery applications.
Since last March, when the first cases of covid-19 were reported in Costa Rica, consumers have been subjected to severe restrictions on mobility, which has led to transformations in the forms of marketing.
Sales via websites, social networks and instant messaging systems, as well as offering home delivery and including frozen food on menus, are some of the innovations that restaurants have had to apply in the new commercial reality.
Until the abrupt change in consumption habits brought about by the covid-19 outbreak in Costa Rica, restaurants did not imagine that the situation would force them to abandon their classic table service.
Removing commonly used beverage dispensers, signaling establishments to ensure social distancing, and installing doors with a foot opening are some of the adaptations that restaurants will have to make to operate in the new commercial environment.
The restaurant sector has been one of the hardest hit by the covid-19 outbreak, as in most countries the authorities have prohibited these establishments from serving their customers in the table area and only allow them to sell take-out.
So far this year, interest in fast food in Central American markets has clearly increased, with Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica recording the largest increases in interactions associated with the topic.
Through a system that monitors real-time changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in Central American countries, developed by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long-term demand trends for different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
Businessmen in the sector in Costa Rica requested the authorities to modify the last restriction, which prohibits restaurants from providing self-service after 5 p.m.
According to directors of the Costa Rican Chamber of Restaurants (Cacore), the measure of sanitary vehicle restriction, which forces establishments to close at 5 pm, has caused a collapse in the express service system itself and through platforms.
Because of the social isolation and mobility restrictions that have been decreed by the health crisis facing the region and the world, restaurants will be forced to readjust their business model to the changes that will come in consumer behavior.
The spread of covid-19 has forced restaurant chains to reinvent themselves in order to continue operating, as in most countries of the region governments have banned the free movement of people and forced most commercial establishments to close.
The TGI Friday's chain decided to close its store located in the Oxygen Human Playground shopping center, in the province of Heredia, for a 90-day period.
"As you know, the food and beverage sector has been highly impacted, which is why we have taken the measure to suspend operations at our Friday's Oxygen store," explained a statement issued on March 21 by the company.
Tony Roma's decided to close its operations in the country as of January 17, adding to the recent restaurant closures that have been reported in recent months.
According to signs placed at Tony Roma's restaurant in San Rafael de Escazu, the closure is due to a remodeling, however, according to letters given to the former workers, the reason for the dismissal is because of the closure of the business in the country.
The Hooters chain announced that since February 3rd it closed definitively the establishment that was in Moravia, arguing that the sales levels required to be sustainable were not reached.
An official statement details that the closure was made because of " particular circumstances of the area (Moravia) that have occurred during the last year."
In Costa Rica, the Burger King restaurant chain announced that it plans to open three locations in San Jose, Heredia and Alajuela in the coming months.
According to information from the company, the restaurants that will begin operating in the next two months will be located at Universidad Latina de San Pedro, Santo Domingo de Heredia and City Mall, Alajuela.
6% of Costa Rican consumers express interest in French cuisine, and about 85% of them are between 21 and 45 years old, and have a high level of purchasing power.
An analysis of the interests and preferences of consumers in Costa Rica, prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, provides interesting results on the characteristics and people who show interest in the cuisine and gastronomy of different countries and styles. [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway are some of the fast food chains that plan to invest in opening new restaurants during 2020.
The Pizza Hut chain plans to invest close to $1.8 million in the opening of six new stores this year. The points of sale could be located in the areas of Aserrí, Paraíso de Cartago and San Ramón de Alajuela.
Arguing that there were problems of profitability, the Applebee's chain decided to close the three service centers it was operating in the country.
The restaurant franchise was operated in Costa Rica by the company Dine Equity, and the premises that were closed were located in Terrazas de Lindora, San Pedro and Cariari.