Starting Tomorrow, Starbucks and Ediya Standalone Stores in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Will Be Closed... Restaurants Also Shorten Business Hours

Franchise Coffee Shops in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Must Suspend In-Store Operations
Starbucks 900 Locations & Ediya 1600 Locations Suspend In-Store Service
Individual Coffee Shops Allowed In-Store Use "Opinions Divided"
Fast Food and Bakeries Also Shorten Operating Hours

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Following the government's decision to strengthen COVID-19 prevention guidelines starting from the 30th, customers will no longer be able to drink coffee inside the halls of coffee specialty stores such as Starbucks and Ediya located in the Seoul metropolitan area. Not only general restaurants but also bakery halls such as Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours will be available only until 9 PM.

According to the distribution industry on the 29th, Ediya, the number one franchise cafe chain by number of stores, will have about 1,600 stores in the metropolitan area?more than half of its nationwide stores?unable to operate their halls. Only delivery and takeout are allowed, and even when taking out beverages, core quarantine rules such as maintaining visitor logs, wearing masks, and keeping a distance of 2 meters (at least 1 meter) between users must be followed.

This standard applies to 'franchise-type' coffee specialty stores. In other words, it applies to the entire cafe sector including franchise businesses, franchise stores, business stores, and directly operated stores. Accordingly, Starbucks, which operates 100% of its stores directly, will also suspend hall operations in 900 of its 1,460 stores nationwide located in the metropolitan area. Starbucks' takeout sales account for 40-50%, and it does not offer delivery services.

However, individual coffee specialty stores are allowed to operate their halls. This has led to conflicts among self-employed business owners. A self-employed person A, who operates a small franchise coffee specialty store, said, "Due to COVID-19, we have been recording losses for the past few months," adding, "If franchise stores that are just for show are only allowed takeout and delivery, it would be better to suspend operations for a week."

General restaurants, rest food establishments, and bakeries must adjust their business hours so that only takeout and delivery are allowed from 9 PM to 5 AM the next day. Accordingly, bakery hall use such as Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours is also limited until 9 PM. A Paris Baguette official said, "Although closing times vary by store, overall, hall operations will be reduced by about two hours."

Lotte GRS, which operates Cafe Angel-in-us and Lotteria, explained, "Since general restaurants and rest food establishments can operate normally, stores operating from 10 AM to 10 PM will not be greatly affected, but cafes find it difficult to operate without receiving customers inside the store," adding, "We are discussing countermeasures through emergency meetings." McDonald's also stated, "We are holding emergency meetings regarding detailed business operation matters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.