About 7,000 restaurants and cafes have closed in Ukraine since the start of the war, and more than 2,000 new establishments have opened, Olha Nasonova, co-founder of the National Restaurant Association of Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“There are no exact statistics, because. it is simply not being carried out now, among these 7 thousand there are closed establishments and those about which there is no data (in the occupied territories, in shelling zones). The market shrank by about 25% compared to February 2022. In some regions, the market decline was more than 50% (Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporozhye, Lugansk regions), in Kyiv, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk regions – a drop of up to 30%,” Nasonova said.
At the same time, according to her, positive dynamics is observed in the western regions. In Lviv and the region, the number of restaurants and cafes increased by approximately 30%, in the Transcarpathian, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk regions, an increase of approximately 20% was noted.
“Bythe beginning of summer, the market decline was more significant. But since June, restaurants began to open in Kyiv, as well as in the western regions, in general, more than 2 thousand establishments. The restaurant market developed most intensively in Lviv – more than 500 new establishments in the region since the beginning of the war. Of all the cities in western Ukraine, Lviv is the most cosmopolitan and the busiest,” Nasonova said.
According to her, among the summer openings of Lviv were establishments of “promoted” chains: Bao Casual (owner Taras Seredyuk), “Ostannya Barrikada” (Dmitry Borisov), a number of franchising establishments.
At the same time, the expert noted that it is incorrect to talk about the “relocation” of restaurants. “In fact, truly displaced, i.e. those who transported equipment, furniture, etc., are few. More often the restaurant turned out to be simply destroyed, or in the occupied territory, and there was simply nothing to take out. Therefore, new restaurants were opened,” Nasonova said.
In her opinion, restaurant investors began to consider cities in Western Ukraine as more profitable for starting a new business. As for expansion abroad, there are still few such examples. “It is planned to open Chernomorka, institutions of Borisov, Sukhomlin. Countries – Poland and Germany, but more Poland. There are more Ukrainians there, and the mentality of the Poles is closer to ours,” the expert said.
Established in 2021, the National Restaurant Association of Ukraine (NRAU) for May 2022 unites more than 50 members, 450 restaurants and cafes.
