Restaurant industry dips as winter approaches, says sector representative

AMMAN — Seasonal changes have negatively impacted food businesses in the Kingdom, said Omar Awwad, president of the Jordan Association for Restaurants and Sweet Shops on Wednesday.

Reflecting on the current challenges facing restaurant and sweet shop businesses in the Kingdom, Awwad told The Jordan Times that “restaurants are seeing a significant decline of over 50 per cent in sales”.

The sector gradually started to experience lower sales by summer’s end, according to Awwad, who indicated that rising prices of several food commodities and other materials added pressure on sector operators.

Awwad noted that cold weather conditions usually affect consumer spending on restaurants and dining out. 

“During winter people feel less compelled to spend money, because usually expenses accumulate when the weather becomes colder,” he said.

Moreover, he said that operational costs are increasing day by day.

Speaking with The Jordan Times, Diya’a Mansour, a cashier at a restaurant in Amman, said that “we have noticed a sharp decline in business, and most people are only ordering their food online”.

He also revealed that fast food restaurants are less likely to be negatively affected during the winter, unlike local food businesses that offer traditional cuisine like rice and chicken, which are always prone to a slow season during the last three months of each year.