Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-04-20)

B U S I N E S S

13

PHOTOGRAPH

BY

GILLES

SABRIE

FOR

BLOOMBERG

BUSINESSWEEK

Edited by

James E. Ellis

Bloomberg Businessweek April 20, 2020

Aftermorethantwomonthsofbeingconfinedto

theirhomes,mostofWuhan’s11 millionresidents

arenowfreetoventureout,withinfectionsdwin-

dlingfromthousandsofnewcasesa dayinmid-

Februarytojusta handfula week.Butforrestaurant

ownerXiongFei,theendofthelockdowninthe

Chinesecitywherethecoronaviruspandemicbegan

hasn’tbroughtrelief,justa newsetofchallenges.

WhilefactoriesaroundWuhanareworking

aroundtheclocktogetbackuptospeed,therecov-

eryofconsumer-focusedbusinessessuchasXiong’s

won’tbesostraightforward.Althoughpeopleare

cautiouslytakingtothestreetsagain,theyremain

subjecttocurbsontheirmovementsaimedatkeep-

ingthevirusatbay.Residentsareencouragedto

stayhomeandstillmusthavetheirtemperatures

checkedbeforeenteringanybuilding.Inother

words,it’sfarfrombusinessasusual,stokingfears

amongsmallbusinesspeoplelikeXiongthatthe

lockdownhaschangedcustomers’behavior,maybe

forgood.“Peopleinthepastdinedoutwiththeir

colleaguesintheirlunchhour,nowthey’reallget-

tinglunchboxes,”hesays,sittingina boothatan

emptySichuanrestaurantheoperates.“They’re

morelikelytocookathomethangoout.”

Of the 10 restaurants Xiong’s company,

BainianfengCateringManagementCo.,operated

beforetheoutbreak,nonehavereopenedfordin-

ingin.Andwhilethreehaveresumedmakingfood

deliveries,Xionghasalreadydecidedtoshutter

threeotherlocationsforgoodbecauseheexpects

fewercustomers.Nowthe40-year-oldentrepre-

neurandhisbusinesspartnersaretryingtodecide

whattodolongterm.HalfofBainianfeng’srestau-

rantswerehotpotjoints,wheregroupsofdiners

cookrawmeatandvegetablesincommunalpotsof

boilingbroth—the sort of places customers now are

likely to avoid. “There will be a significant down-

turn in consumption,” Xiong says, predicting the

city’s hospitality scene will see a shakeout.

● A restaurateur struggles

to reopen in a city where

consumer habits have changed

Wuhan’s Life After Lockdown

Isn’t Business as Usual