Antalya's Cafes and Stores During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Antalya’s Cafes Are Tired of Constantly Closing and Opening
April 30, 2021
Ever since the notorious March of 2020, cafes, restaurants and bars in Turkey have been in an unending cycle of opening, semi-opening and closing their stores due to the Turkish government’s ever changing COVID-19 measures.The last closing of cafes, restaurants and bars took place on November 20, 2020. This was due to the alarming rise of the COVID-19 cases in the country. When restrictions were lifted after four months of delivery-only, business owners were hoping that this time they would stay open for good. But soon after the re-opening in the beginning of March, they were once again left with disappointment.
As the country welcomed the religious Eid holiday, the Turkish government implemented yet another national lockdown to prevent people from traveling and gathering for the sake of Muslim traditions. The food and beverage sector had to shut their doors once again on April 13 and are waiting for the designated date of May 17 to re-open for the fourth time.
In the coastal Mediterranean city of Antalya, cafe owners are frustrated. As the weather is becoming warmer, they are losing customers who would normally spend their hours in Antalya’s popular third-wave cafes and designer stores by the coast.These third-wave, designer and hipster cafes became very popular in the coast of Antalya.These cafes present an artistic, bohemian and fluid experience to the customer who is used to either going to traditional cafes, bookstores, or jewelry stores. These designer cafes give the customer all of these experiences in an intertwined way.
The rise and shine of these design cafes were hunted by the unstable government policies on opening and closing businesses to curb the spread of the pandemic. While there is an increasing demand on these newly emerging culture hubs, designer stores feel that they are never given the chance to start, restart, or re-restart their business.
Ebru Uçar is the owner of Yaz Dükkan, a designer cafe in Antalya that sells jewelry, homeware, art, clothing and coffee from local artists around Turkey. Uçar does not find the restrictions on cafes and restaurants effective when they are not conducted equally.
When the Turkish government closed down cafes, restaurants and bars, shopping malls were kept exceptionally open. Also, pictures of various high-ranking government officials attending crowded funerals were exposed to the Turkish press, including those of the Turkish Ministry of Health. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also carried out his annual political party conventions across the Black Sea region, where millions of supporters gathered in indoor arenas. These government scandals further infuriated the local small business owners, as they had to face the consequences of government’s disobedience to the COVID-19 safety measures. Uçar finds this to be unfair. Right now, Yaz Dükkan is closed until May 17.
“We feel like we are left alone and hopeless. If the government is a father, we are like the unwanted child. He orders us to “open” we open, he orders us to “close”, we close. But he never asks how are we still alive.” says Uçar, sharing her feelings on having to close down her business again.
Uçar is particularly critical of government’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says that the measures they take are only to save the day and themselves.
“I am unable to open my store in months. And not only I received zero financial support from the government, but I am also drowning under taxes. Right now, people are collecting trash from the street, committing suicide because they can’t feed their child, and those who govern us do not care about this at all. This is what makes me so angry.” comments Uçar.
Berna Neyişçi is the creative director of Başka Ol, a newly opened designer cafe/ bookstore in Antalya. Başka Ol, meaning “be different” in Turkish, is a collective bazaar that serves a curated selection of products ranging from books and jewelry to pastries, cocktails and coffee. Neyişçi also thinks that closing down means having to start from scratch again.
“ We are sad because we were finally at a point where our store came to a certain standard for service, quality and financial turnover. Creating that took a long time. Having to re-create that will take a longer time.” says Neyişçi.
But she thinks that a nationwide lockdown was necessary, considering the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Neyişçi holds an optimistic view on this issue.
“I see this as a unique opportunity. You are able to close down your business, step back and rethink what you are doing wrong both from the eyes of the customer and of the server. It is good to have time for this.” comments Neyişçi.
On the other hand, both Uçar and Neyişçi acknowledge the drawbacks of not being able to work during a pandemic. Regarding the government measures changing without giving business owners further notice, Uçar says that:
“It of course extremely affected our business financially. But there is also a psychological aspect to it. We are always on red alert, nervously waiting for the next opening or the next closing. We can’t procure goods, or get ready for the summer season, because we have a giant uncertainty in front of us and we are just standing still with our hands tied.”
Neyişçi agrees that the pandemic leaves everyone’s hands tied and prevents them from looking at what is next.
“We still have not taken this COVID-19 situation under control. And we can’t look ahead. If you want to do something, if you want to invest in something, or even if you want to dream about something, you always have this COVID-19 barrier in front of you. And we, as a country, do not seem like we are going to get out of this mess soon.”