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