Hot Weather in Moscow Boosts Interest in Summer Verandas

Denis Ivanov, Founder of Sibir Sibir, Ku, and Kronbacher Restaurants:

— It`s a very short period. Summer is still short – but it`s good that the heat is back. Good weather is always very important for verandas. When it`s cold and rainy in Moscow, it always negatively affects things. Cool isn`t cold, but it *was* indeed cold and rainy. I think verandas contribute greatly to restaurant operations in the summer period, because many people leave; people are used to the feeling of summer. We are very dependent and sensitive to the weather. In this sense, weather plays a key role.

— How long do you need warm days to at least break even or recoup costs?

— You need at least about two warm months of summer. But a lot also depends on whether there will be an Indian summer. Unlike the regions, Moscow generally likes verandas more, because cold and autumn arrive much faster elsewhere. I must say that overall, this summer has been tough compared to previous ones in terms of economic performance, and starting from spring, restaurants have been going through not the best times due to weather dependence.

Evgenia Levshitskaya, Partner at Perelman People Restaurant Holding:

— People have started going to verandas. Yesterday, for example, I was at our restaurant, sitting inside, but most people were sitting outside. It was lunchtime – in my opinion, sitting on a veranda at lunchtime in Moscow is practically against the law, your head stops working. But still, people don`t mind – apparently, everyone missed the sun so much. There`s another story starting from mid-July called `vacation season`. Most people have left the capital: some to the suburbs, some to the seaside. So globally, to say that something is being compensated now… Both restaurants and fashion brands suffered this year, because we certainly suffered from May onwards. We didn`t count on June at all. Honestly, we`re hoping that September and October will give us warm weather, and eventually, everything will be fine.

— Did this summer hit restaurants hard?

— It hit hard. But again: this all started in May.

Restaurateur Semyon Nebolsin:

— Verandas vary. In our specific case, they have already started paying off. Especially since we use gas heaters, and people were sitting on the veranda in June. Now there are more guests compared to June, when the weather really wasn`t summery. Overall, the last few months have shown a relatively negative trend: inflation was felt very strongly, products and salaries became more expensive – this all affected dish prices, and consequently, sales decreased.