There are 350 Roman restaurants and bars at risk of closing within the year, but in the peripheral neighborhoods. In fact, the center is saved, at least for the moment, almost exclusively thanks to the recovery of tourism. If the crackdown on PSOs were to pass at the end of the year, due to the new municipal resolution which would however see the reduction of tables and platforms especially in the UNESCO area, the reduction in turnover for administration exercises could exceed 20 percent in one shot. These are the data from Fiepet Confesercenti, which analyzes the two-sided trend for the sector in this summer which is about to end. In fact, if the recovery of the sector has been undeniable in the last year after the harsh backlash of Covid, it has particularly characterized the center once again invaded by tourists and the areas of the summer resorts, which in many cases have been fully booked. The suburbs are going differently, where the catering crisis is believed to be due in particular to the rise in mortgages and inflation which has pushed single-income families to reduce their luxury spending and therefore also eating out. «We highlight a very difficult situation in the Prenestina, Tiburtina, eastern Rome districts in general – says the President of Fiepet for Rome and Lazio, Claudio Pica – those businesses which, despite all the difficulties, had held up after Covid, are now suffering from the rise in rates of interest for mortgages and loans and in the meantime also the decline in consumption. Several hundred locals are at risk.”
All eyes are on the new resolution on occupations of public land which, barring further extensions by the Government, will take the place of the now well-known emergency OSPs which are decidedly larger than those before the pandemic. But at least, the suburbs should be spared from such a cut and therefore stem the bleeding of closures due to the crisis.
«We are in favor of a certain downsizing of those who have exaggerated, especially in the centre, and have really expanded too much compared to their original spaces – says Pica – however we would have expected a different participatory process on the part of the department, as foreseen by the law with a text of the OSP promised by the department for over three months”. Fiepet is convinced of the importance of outdoor spaces for businesses, which especially after the pandemic characterize a new way of experiencing administration. On the price front, however, which held sway during this hot summer, there should be no new increases in price list, indeed. Those who have raised prices due to the price increases suffered have in turn made or are making improvements to their business or in terms of menu, expanding courses and wine list.
