On Thursday, the Zagreb Rooftop Lateral transformed for a few hours into the 'old normal'. We witnessed a pilot project of a business dinner with about ninety vaccinated guests who socialized at the top of the VMD building as if it were 2019 again – without adhering to epidemiological measures.
The smell of food and drinks in the air, the most famous musical hits, and elegant outfits made us feel somewhat nostalgic for such gatherings. In that atmosphere, I constantly wondered if we were really one step away from the old normal?
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Aside from the relaxed party atmosphere, the only thing that distinguishes this event from any other gathering on café terraces during the pandemic is the fact that all participants received both doses of the vaccine, and after a week, they will be tested for the coronavirus. Everyone except us journalists and photographers who attended the event at a distance and with masks, without testing. If the results are favorable, a normalization of the hospitality, event, and other related industries, which have suffered significant losses, is expected soon. They will strive to prove that holding events is safe.
That was precisely the goal of this hastily organized project by the Independent Association of Caterers with the support of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Institute of Public Health. I say hastily because we received the invitation only 24 hours earlier, and from a pleasant conversation with Ana Lisak, the owner of catering Lisak (and Rooftop Lateral) and vice president of the mentioned association, I learned that they managed to organize the entire event in just a few days. However, due to the unbearable drop in revenue, the idea for such a pilot project has been brewing since March.
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Venues without people
The drop in revenue in the hospitality sector in the first four months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019 is 55.5 percent. Rooftop Lateral has been completely closed since November 28 of last year when the second lockdown came into effect. This bar, with a beautiful view of Zagreb, has hosted numerous pop-up events since its opening four years ago. It was these events that made it recognizable, and on Thursday it became the central place for the first pilot project of a business dinner in Croatia.
I believe that many, like me, missed that carefree socializing feeling that could be felt in the air.
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– Last year we arranged everything, it looked truly magical. We invested a huge amount of money to be part of the city Advent event with a view of the city. However, at the end of November, new epidemiological measures came into effect, closing fairs and terraces – explains Lisak the reason for the closure and adds that it is difficult to talk about losses.
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At the foot of the same building, in the newly renovated ambiance of Trattoria Laterale, also owned by catering Lisak, the owner explained to me what problems her business has been facing for over a year.
– Hoping that something would open, in January we invested in the offer of Trattoria Laterale, which now also has pizzas. We bought an original, large, expensive pizza oven, and we renovated the entire venue. We will see if this investment will pay off at all – says Lisak in a completely empty venue that operates only with a few tables on the terrace and deliveries.
Catering down by 85 percent
Her primary business is catering. In Croatia, there are more than 300 catering companies, and about the same number of wedding venues. This sector employs more than 12,000 people, which doubles that number when considering the entire range of related activities involved in the wedding organization process, from planners, decorators, florists, musicians, photographers, and others. Lisak reveals that they are currently operating at 15 to 20 percent capacity compared to 2019.
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– We are corporate catering, we do fewer wedding ceremonies, and more private receptions. I hope that will come back to life again, but it certainly won’t be now or in July, because in July and August we spend what we accumulate during February and March – the owner will candidly say.
'Our employees are our business'
The entire event industry has recorded a 90 percent drop since the beginning of the pandemic. Last year alone, more than 100 festivals were canceled. This industry accounts for 6.3 percent of Croatia’s GDP and employs about 17,000 people. It is sad to estimate that only 50 to 60 percent of companies and employees who were engaged in events before the pandemic will remain in the market.
– Our employees are our business – says Lisak, explaining that in her 22-year-old company, as much as 60 percent of people have worked for more than 10 years, and some even 18. These are their lives and families.
She emphasizes that since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1,000 companies have closed their doors, over 40 percent are in bankruptcy, and employers and companies cannot obtain loans. Hospitality has become an unstable industry where even employees are no longer creditworthy.
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– As long as the ship sails, I will be on it and save all my passengers who built it with me – Lisak will decisively say.
Support measures as oxygen
On Saturday, another pilot project will take place at the Zagreb Golf Club Riverside – a simulation of a wedding ceremony with a live band performance, expecting more than 100 participants. Unlike this, three groups of guests will participate in Saturday’s event: vaccinated, tested (the day before at HZJZ), and those who have already recovered from COVID-19. They will also be tested a week later.
If the outcomes of these pilot projects are favorable, hospitality and other industries will get the opportunity to open. As Lisak explains, even if they open, they will not start working from tomorrow because events are arranged months in advance.
– Restrictions in our business will certainly last a long time. As long as we cannot operate at full capacity, for us, the extensions of measures for maintaining jobs and measures for compensation of part of fixed costs are water and oxygen – says Lisak.
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Until full opening, I will eagerly await the next opportunity to go to a party, even if it is 'with a task'. I believe I am not the only one.
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