ONE of the country’s iconic and popular restaurants that provided a standout Bahraini breakfast has shut doors as a result of the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Saffron (Za’fran in Arabic) by Jena has closed its three restaurants in Souq Al Qaysariya, Muharraq, Bab Al Bahrain and in Riffa Fort as operations became unsustainable.
Owner and Bahraini entrepreneur Narise Kamber told the GDN that it was indeed a tough decision, but necessary as it became difficult to cope with the high operational costs.
“We have closed all our three outlets because like many others our business was affected due to the pandemic,” Ms Kamber said.
“There was no other option because tourists are not coming into the country. We cannot only depend on online orders to sustain our operations because it’s a dine-in concept.”
Stopping flights into the kingdom, plus visa restrictions and, most importantly, closure of King Fahad Causeway since March 8, has put travel and tourism among the most badly hit sectors from measures introduced to try and prevent the spread of the virus.
Ms Kamber said she “held on strong” for the past few months, but decided to lay off staff after she realised that “there is no end in sight” when it came to the pandemic.
“We had to lay off about 48 of our staff from different nationalities which was the hardest part because they are the family who have worked with us all these years.”
The award-winning restaurant was famous among Bahrainis, GCC nationals and expats for its local traditional breakfast such as eggs with tomato, balaleet, foul, lentils and different types of bread.
Ms Kamber said majority of her clientele were Bahrainis, expats and GCC nationals, who regularly visited the restaurants for breakfast.
“We had a Rolls Royce treatment and the business was booming in weekends with good revenues, but that has now changed,” she said.
“Business models need to be reviewed globally because of Covid-19.”
Ms Kamber opened her first restaurant in 2012 in co-operation with government bodies and the same year opened the other two branches.
“There is no point of return certainly this year, but I would love to open the Muharraq outlet. It means a lot to me because the journey started here.
“I feel the pandemic has given us time to reflect on other opportunities that we all should look into and remain positive,” said Ms Kamber, who holds a degree in Political Science from London.
She lauded Tamkeen’s efforts to support businesses, but said high rentals and other fixed costs made it difficult to continue operations.
However, she said her bakery – Jena Bakery in Hamala – would continue to function.
Restaurants are limited to delivery and take-away since March and in May Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani said they were discussing new regulations to allow dine-in-guests at restaurants, with certain rules.
The GDN earlier reported on a survey conducted by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry covering Food Wealth sector (restaurants and cafes) whose representatives warned of closure and bankruptcy (23 per cent), while 75pc expected significant decrease in revenues.
A total of 46pc of business owners expected closure of their companies in the next six months.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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