Coronavirus. “The simple fact that we talk about it all the time, slows people down”

For Oualid Azoula, owner of a small pizzeria Le Boufflers in Nancy, times have been tough since March 17. “Since June 2, I have clients calling me. They are willing to come but they are afraid so… they do not come ”, he regrets. He started working again in May, thanks to take-out. But it is not the same thing. “Above all, it helped to limit losses. It was that or nothing. »His clientele is mainly made up of families or elderly people from the neighborhood. “We often believe that it is young people who make us live in a pizzeria, but this is not the case”

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A small room with no terrace possible

Without a terrace, the reopening came at the cost of a reduction in the number of places. “From 30, I’m 23 with sanitary measures. But anyway, people don’t come more or less. At noon, from 45 covers, I fell to 15. It is also the telework effect that continues in many companies. So since then, it is the take-out that has helped to rebalance the accounts a little, but without increasing in the same proportions. “Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of charges. So as I have two people half-time, I juggle and I am there all the time, ”describes Oualid Azoula.

The restaurateur does not count his hours to fulfill as many orders as possible. But with the evolution of measures against the epidemic in recent days in France, there are still questions. The situation cannot go on forever. “We don’t know how we’re going to do it. The simple fact that we talk about it all the time puts the brakes on people. We have a little cash, but if we are confined again… ”Listening to other colleagues in the neighborhood, he does not complain but he worries all the same. “Some have not yet reopened,” says the trader.

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