{"id":228146,"date":"2020-09-26T11:50:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T15:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=228146"},"modified":"2020-09-28T10:57:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T14:57:07","slug":"how-a-tourist-restaurant-in-cuba-has-adapted-in-a-country-with-no-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/society-cuba\/how-a-tourist-restaurant-in-cuba-has-adapted-in-a-country-with-no-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"How a tourist restaurant in Cuba has adapted in a country with no tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"

I first visited Mu\u00f1oz Tapas<\/a> in Trinidad in July 2019 several weeks after its initial launch. As a long-time friend of the restaurant\u2019s owner, Julio Mu\u00f1oz, I had stopped by on my way between Cienfuegos and Santa Clara for a quick lunch.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Situated at a central crossroads in Cuba\u2019s premier tourist town, the restaurant is blessed with a location to die for and sunset views to match. Sitting on an open-air terrace overlooking Trinidad\u2019s red-tiled rooftops, I enjoyed ropa vieja tacos, tres leches cake and an ice-cold Cristal beer with the Escambray Mountains silhouetted in the background. It was a satisfying and very relaxing experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I sipped a post-lunch cafecito and chatted with Julio about his future plans, I couldn\u2019t help thinking that, despite the challenges of a tightening US embargo and fierce competition from around 100 other eating establishments in Trinidad, the prospects for his new restaurant looked good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Privileged view from the terrace. Photo: Mu\u00f1oz Tapas\u00b4 Facebook profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then came Covid-19.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On March 20, 2020, threatened by the fast-spreading global pandemic, Cuba closed its borders to international travelers and battened down the hatches for three months of strict lockdown. In a country where tourism is second only to healthcare as an economic provider, the fallout was severe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Particularly affected were Cuba\u2019s 600,000 <\/span>cuentapropistas<\/span><\/i> (private entrepreneurs) many of whom work in the tourist sector, renting out private rooms (in <\/span>casas particulares<\/span><\/i>), driving taxis, or running restaurants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lockdown meant private restaurants including Mu\u00f1oz Tapas were forced to close as business in Trinidad ground to a halt and food supplies, most of which came from other municipalities, became scarce. In an attempt to provide some relief, the government temporarily lowered business taxes, but with the economy already weakened by the US embargo and the demise of Cuba\u2019s key trading partner, Venezuela, the outlook didn\u2019t look good. \u2018We had no form of income\u2019, said Julio who, before Covid, also ran a casa particular and an equestrian center, \u2018So every day my family was constantly analyzing the various business possibilities to see what might work.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were numerous barriers. Without international visitors, many private entrepreneurs in Cuba had nothing to fall back on. The country has very little domestic tourism. Most Cubans receive their salaries in pesos and simply can\u2019t afford the prices in traditional tourist establishments which charge in convertibles (the peso\/convertible exchange rate is 25:1). Consequently, they cook at home or eat in cheap (and inferior) state-run restaurants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, in the wider Covid-19 battle, Cuba had two weapons in its armory: a well-organized health system and populace accustomed to dealing with economic difficulties. The collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s coupled with a long history of shortages and rationing have hardened Cuba\u2019s resistance to economic crises. The pandemic was a shock in a country that is painfully used to shocks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After registering a relatively light number of Covid cases, Cuba began a tentative reopening in early July, albeit with a few niggling caveats. While Cubans could move around the country freely outside of Havana, foreign visitors were confined to a few isolated resorts on the country\u2019s northern keys. Trinidad and all other Cuban cities remained strictly off-limits to tourists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Julio, with the help of his wife Rosa Orbea, stuck his neck out on July 8th and decided to reopen his restaurant. With zero tourists and a wholly Cuban clientele it was gamble. But with a strong background in business \u2013 Julio was one of a handful of Cuban <\/span>cuentapropistas<\/span><\/i> invited to meet US president, Barack Obama in 2016 \u2013 he felt he could make it work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Julio Mu\u00f1oz and his wife, Rosa Orbea. Courtesy of Julio Mu\u00f1oz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the restart, significant changes had to be made. Prices at the restaurant were lowered by between 40% and 50% and the menu was creatively redesigned to satisfy Cuban palates. Due to high labor taxes, the workforce had to be cut by half.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the economic climate was challenging, Mu\u00f1oz Tapas had a head-start. Despite the lure of the tourist dollar, the restaurant had always gone out of its way to attract Cubans as well as international clients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a foresighted policy. Julio once told me that to be successful in this most unpredictable of countries it is necessary to always have \u2018<\/span>un paso adelante<\/span><\/i>\u2019 (one step forward) as it\u2019s impossible to tell what\u2019s around the next corner. It was a philosophy he employed early on at Mu\u00f1oz Tapas. where 20% to 30% of his customer base was Cuban. \u2018We gave discounts to Cubans, served dishes to suit all tastes and budgets, and offered generic service across the board, whether people were ordering an expensive dish or a cup of coffee,\u2019 he explained. \u2018Re-opening during the pandemic thus became easy because we had already created a good reputation among Cuban customers, something that other restaurants hadn\u2019t.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Another advantage was the restaurant\u2019s design. An open-air terrace and a spacious interior salon with large windows allowed adequate ventilation and room for physical distancing. As a precaution staff wore masks and gloves, hand sanitizer was provided at the door, and a special entrance mat disinfected shoes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mu\u00f1oz Tapas. Courtesy of Julio Mu\u00f1oz (Archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With only a dozen of Trinidad\u2019s 100 or so tourist-dependent restaurants electing to reopen in July, there was a lot less competition in the town\u2019s new Covid reality. Notwithstanding, the supply chain continues to be a constant headache.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Everything is in short supply\u2019, Julio recently told me. \u2018The new US dollar stores [first opened in July] are the only way of acquiring basic products such as flour, cooking oil, and spaghetti. But we face a lot of difficulty obtaining US dollars because there\u2019s no international tourism and, due to the embargo, there\u2019s no easy way of receiving money from abroad. The embargo is having a big effect on people in Cuba and damaging private business.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So that customers don\u2019t have to constantly suffer the tiresome Cuban refrain of <\/span>\u2018no hay\u2019<\/span><\/i> (there isn\u2019t any) or <\/span>\u2018se acab\u00f3\u2019 <\/span><\/i>(it\u2019s finished), Julio\u2019s menu only offers what he has in stock that day: \u2018We have a general menu, but we modify it depending on what is available. As our style is farm to table, we buy things early in the morning and, when we have decided what we will be able to make, we change the menu accordingly and reprint it.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommendations and photos are posted daily on Facebook and Instagram. Subject to ingredients, the restaurant still serves ropa vieja and tres leches cake; pizzas go for the equivalent of US$1.50, a Cuban sandwich costs US$2 – and yes, you can still get a decent mojito.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Since its July reopening, the restaurant, with its streamlined staff and dearth of competition, has managed to make a small profit, a miracle in the circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, Julio puts part of his success down to US-Cuban cooperation. \u2018Our capacity to evolve with the circumstances and run a business efficiently is due, in part, to our contact with guests on People to People trips initiated by the Obama administration. Through these exchanges with Americans, my family and I learned a lot about the tourist industry and restaurants\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People to People trips (cultural tours run through US-based companies) were first permitted by Obama in 2011 but discontinued by Trump in 2019. Julio hosted many of them at his Trinidad home.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens next in Cuba is difficult to foretell. Tourism is only likely to return to pre-pandemic highs once the virus is properly under control. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pandemic, elections and travel between Cuba and the U.S.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n