Catering in Milan, Andrea Meoni: ''We will reopen only when it is possible'' (EXCLUSIVE)

"Sometimes not doing is really the only thing to do": Andrea Meoni, entrepreneur and president of SevenGroup, a company that runs as many as seven restaurants in Milan, responds in this way to the first question of RGLife's third part of the survey-the first was on home deliveries for venues and the second on theimportance of take-out containers-on the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic in the opinions of some of RGMania and RG Commerciale's top Milanese clients, with whom we tried to understand how the bar and restaurant world is experiencing this delicate period, to say the least.

"With my partners we decided to keep everything closed, it is not the right time to work, better to wait. With the first lockdown we had tried takeout and delivery, but it didn't work. We realized that this type of service suits a target clientele looking for medium quality at a good price. Those who, like us, aim toward high quality of product and service do not benefit from this way of operating. We had developed chicken dishes and soups that lent themselves well to being reheated at home so that they would regain their fragrance, but those who cater their meals through take-out and especially through delivery do not want to hustle in the kitchen, they prefer cold dishes or hot dishes that are ready to eat right away. Pret a manger is not SevenGroup's business." Certainly staying closed for many months seriously affected the group's revenue, which grossed a derisory amount in 2020 compared to 2019: "We saved ourselves precisely by staying closed. We are not a family-run business or one with few employees to pay. We have to pay 210 people salaries, and it goes without saying that we can only afford to hold this commitment if our 7 venues are running at full capacity. Depriving ourselves as members of a salary and accessing the layoff fund for employees was the only way we could move forward; if we had tried to stay open with all the covid limitations, we probably would have gone out of business."

With respect to possible future scenarios, Andrea Meoni is very skeptical of the assumption held by many that the restaurant world will become mostly takeout, delivery, catering, and cook at home: "Going to a restaurant is not simply to fill your belly with good things. You choose a restaurant to have an experience, and the key aspect is sharing, socializing, getting together. In some of our establishments, for example, the secret room where you can play pinball and foosball is very welcome, a way to continue the evening in good company. This is what catering is all about, and people will not want to do without it even (and perhaps even more so) when this pandemic is, hopefully soon, just a memory." Meanwhile, the restaurant world is in turmoil and the first protests are beginning, so much so that some establishments have reopened despite the bans: "It is understandable the exasperation of the whole category that has been on its knees for a long time and I understand the protest, but not done in this way: reopening only means increasing the vehiculation of the virus and involving customers in a crime also putting them at risk of a fine, we need to find other ways to make our discomfort heard, we do not adhere to this type of protest."

Regarding a possible reorganization of work and service criteria, SevenGroup's president has very clear ideas: "Food delivery platforms cost money even if their margins are not as high as many believe, but in any way thinking of replacing them with private means of delivery is economically illusory, it still costs more. My opinion is that this type of service can only go alongside and develop where there is already a fully functioning restaurant regardless of delivery, which can be an additional service and never a replacement. In addition, much attention must be paid to the fact that preparing meals for delivery at certain times could penalize customers waiting inside the restaurant, and this would be a damage to the image, a risk I do not intend to take."

Regarding a possible reopening of the premises, theMilanese entrepreneur 's opinion is clear: "We will reopen only when it will be possible to work at least almost at full capacity, hopefully this will be possible around April or May, at a time when people with the good season will feel the desire to go out again and the virus with the rise in temperatures should subside. We hope to end 2021 with at least 50 percent of 2019 sales, just to survive until better times."

SevenGroup is a group of establishments that embrace different types of menus, always focusing on service and quality ingredients: Drogherie milanesi - Drogheria Carrobbio, Drogheria San Marco, Drogheria Montenero - Casa dei Ciliegi, Joe Cipolla, Zio Pesce, Pescherie Riunite.

Thanks to Andrea Meoni for his willingness to help. Photos published courtesy of SevenGroup. Interview edited by Monica Palla.