The number of restaurants with summer terraces is growing

Russian restaurateurs are increasingly opening summer verandas. Since July 2019, the number of establishments with tables on the street in 16 largest Russian cities has grown by 37%, to 8 thousand points, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg – by 28% and 36%, to 4 thousand and 2 thousand objects, respectively. The rules for the installation and operation of verandas are being simplified, but the activity of market participants is holding back the rise in the cost of structures and furniture.

The number of cafes and restaurants with summer terraces in 16 largest Russian cities from July 2019 to July 2023 increased by 37%, up to 8 thousand establishments, calculated in 2GIS. In Moscow, the number of such outlets increased by 28%, to 4 thousand objects, in St. Petersburg – by 36%, to 2 thousand cafes and restaurants. In the summer of 2022, according to the mayor’s office, 3.5 thousand verandas worked in Moscow. Thus, over the past year, the number of cafes and restaurants with summer terraces in the capital has grown by 14.2%.

According to 2GIS, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, establishments with summer terraces account for 15.23% and 14.91% of all cafes and restaurants. The largest share of such objects is in Nizhny Novgorod, 19.2%, the second place with a share of 18.53% is occupied by Krasnodar, and the third with 17.33% is Kazan, analysts calculated. The smallest shares of establishments with verandas, according to 2GIS, are in Omsk (8.37%), Voronezh (9.99%) and Chelyabinsk (10.14%).

Design and construction director of Unirest (Rostic’s and KFC in Russia) Nikolai Popov believes that the number of establishments with summer terraces is growing in proportion to the increase in the number of new projects on the market, some of whose owners open summer terraces. The co-owner of the Tigrus holding (manages Osteria Mario, Shvili and Bar BQ Cafe) Henrik Winter adds that the rules for installing and operating summer verandas are generally simplified. So, in Moscow last year, the ban on the sale of alcohol in summer cafes was lifted. The permit has been extended until the end of 2023, the industry portal Horeca.Estate wrote. In June, a group of deputies submitted a bill to the State Duma, according to which the subjects of the Russian Federation will be able to allow the sale of alcohol on the verandas if the adjacent establishment has a license. And in the spring, the government of the Russian Federation allowed restaurateurs to equip a veranda on the site adjacent to the building without additional procedures, if the land is owned by the state or municipality and has not been allocated for other purposes.

Stanislav Lisichenko, founder of the Chinese News restaurant chain, says that today all establishments that have the technical ability to open summer verandas have taken advantage of it so as not to miss out on additional revenue.

At YasnoRestorana (Khochu Puri, Goryachiy Tsekh chains), all establishments outside shopping centers are opening with verandas, notes Irina Izmailova, head of the company’s division. Vkusno — i dotka reported that the company operates more than 500 summer verandas throughout Russia, which allow increasing planting by 30-40%.

Nikolai Popov says that the restaurant does not always have a suitable area for a veranda. The place must be equipped in front of the guest entrance so as not to interfere with pedestrians and cleaning equipment, he explains. In addition, Mr. Popov points out, a summer veranda is beneficial if there are at least 20 seats per about 30 square meters. m, but it is not always possible to find such areas on the sidewalks.

Arrangement of verandas also becomes more expensive. According to Stanislav Lisichenko, over the past few years, spending on the purchase and installation of structures and furniture has increased by 30-50%. It is not difficult to set up tables, chairs and umbrellas, but it has become much more expensive to create a cozy and high-quality summer veranda, also due to the increase in prices for imported goods and materials due to the increased exchange rate, Henrik Winter clarifies. But, as Mr. Lisichenko noted, the creation of a high-quality veranda usually pays off for restaurateurs, if not in the first year of work, then in the second.

Daria Andrianova