Prague’s ‘We Cook for You’ campaign aims to support local restaurants

Prague City Hall aims to support local restaurants with an information campaign asking people to pick up their food and beverage orders, rather than have them delivered.

The campaign 'We Cook for You' (Vaříme za vás) was launched in cooperation with the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHR ČR) and the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism (SOČR).

Restaurants have been facing a hard time due to coronavirus restrictions that have shut down seating both indoors and in restaurant gardens. Although, delivery and pickup are still available.

The campaign’s aim is to encourage Praguers to buy food and drinks directly from the eateries to help them stay open. About a third of culinary establishments have already closed and more are expected to do so in the coming months.

The sale of food and drink from take-out windows accounts for only a fraction of the usual revenue for restaurants, but it helps them survive during the current situation. Direct food pickup gives the restaurants additional money, as delivery services charge the restaurants a percent of the menu price as a delivery fee.

He initiated the call for the general public to support Prague restaurants. The sector employs thousands of people who can permanently lose their jobs.

People in the culinary industry agree that food pickup helps, since every crown counts these days.

Oko currently only offers take away, as the fees charged by a delivery service would make selling a meal unprofitable for them. They already try to make meals affordable for local people.  “If we cut further into our profit on the meal, it simply wouldn’t be worth it,” he added.

Michael Sito, owner of the Globe Bookstore and Cafe, also saw the city’s campaign as a good step but encouraged people to support local eateries any way they could.

Mamun Hassan, the proprietor of Curry House in Prague’s Palmovka neighborhood, agreed that delivery services can greatly reduce the profit a restaurant sees. And while he uses the services as a backup, he tries have his staff deliver as it is more cost effective. “I even make deliveries myself,” he said. He also welcomes pickups.

Tomáš Prouza, president of Confederation of Commerce and Tourism and the vice president of the Czech Chamber of Commerce (HK ČR), said he appreciates how the city is trying to help Prague entrepreneurs in the current crisis. “In the summer, the Prague at Home (V Praze jako doma) program helped severely affected tourism, and we are negotiating with the city on other forms of business support in the capital,” he said.

Critics, though, claim the price of school lunches was set so low that it is difficult to make a profit.

AHR ČR President Václav Stárek said the lunch price at CZK 60 per meal didn’t cover costs and normally at that price they would be subsidized by the state.

“Maintaining the hospitality infrastructure as well as accommodation services will be key factors for the return of tourists to our capital. The atmosphere of our pubs and restaurants also plays an important role in the lives of local residents when meeting friends,” he added.