Protests hit restaurant business

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The recent wave of anti-American demonstrations and threatened sweeps by radical groups have not only become a major political issue but have also hit businesses that often depend on an expatriate clientele.

The row of popular cafes and restaurants in the Kemang area in South Jakarta has been one of the those that has immediately felt the impact, with some establishments claiming to have lost one- third of their business.

"Since the threatened sweeps, we haven't had as many foreign customers as we used to," said Elly Sahely, supervisor of W restaurant.

The past fortnight has been the toughest since the restaurant opened eight months ago, she said.

Another restaurant that claimed to have been badly hit was William's fine dining restaurant.

"At night on the weekend our restaurant is usually fully booked, but now we only have a maximum of 40 guests," Irna Purnamawati, a waiter at the restaurant, which can seat about 100, told The Jakarta Post.

A parking attendant at the restaurant also said there were fewer guests overall. "There are only about 30 cars parking here over a whole day. I used to park around 100 before."

Friday noon at Maxi's Cucina Italiana seemed hauntingly empty, as the only guests were a group Caucasian women occupying one table.

Although the waiter maintained that the restaurant was more popular at night, he acknowledged that there had been a sharp decline in the number of guests, who were usually foreigners.

"I assume they're worried about possible sweeps, or some may have returned to their home countries," said one waiter.

It seems that establishments that are dependent upon an expatriate clientele have been the worst hit. Restaurants that cater to a more local crowd have not been as severely effected.

William W. Wongso, who owns three restaurants, including W and William, acknowledged that they were feeling the pinch as the clientele were foreigners. Yet he remained optimistic the current situation would soon pass.

"From my experience people easily forget about such issues. I can already see a recovery under way. It is still not yet complete, but it's heading that way," he remarked.

He pointed out that restaurants that have a loyal local customer base continued to do well.

"Only those with foreigners as their main clientele will have felt the decline; not all restaurants in Kemang target foreigners," he said.

Among restaurants that have not been adversely effected is the Twilite Cafe, which boasts a clientele mostly of Indonesians.

"People are still booking for parties and the number of guests is stable," said manager Brenda Djorghi. "As our customers are mostly Indonesians we haven't experienced the difficulties others have done."

The same goes for Tamani Cafe where foreigners, manager Danang claims, account for only about 15 percent of the clientele.

Tamani continues to bustle with a young Indonesian crowd, mostly college students.

The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) confirmed the economic setback for many restaurants and lower hotel occupancy as a result of the anti-American sentiment.

PHRI executive director Carla Parengkuan also said hotels and restaurants had suffered an average 30 percent drop in sales.

The setback was being felt particularly by hotels and restaurants in Jakarta, Carla said in a written statement.