Many pubs in Ho Chi Minh City are "as empty as a temple" because customers are afraid of... drinking beer.

At 9:00 p.m. on November 22, amid the loud music, Mr. Luu Van Binh (42 years old), owner of a DJ bar on Pham Van Dong Street (Go Vap District), sat looking out at the stream of cars speeding by on the street waiting for customers.

In the bar, a female employee was dancing and playing some DJ music for 8 customers who were sitting eating and drinking beer. "There are very few customers these days. They are afraid of the traffic police (CSGT) fining them for alcohol concentration, so they don't come as often as before. Meanwhile, I hire a female employee to play DJ music like that for 400,000 VND/hour," Mr. Binh said with a slightly sad expression.

Customers do not play as freely as before.

Mr. Binh's restaurant is one of dozens of pubs along Pham Van Dong Street that are deserted in the middle of the week.

According to Dan Tri newspaper reporters, on this street, in addition to some restaurants with large premises, modern sound and lighting investment and a relatively large number of customers, there are many medium and small-sized drinking establishments with only a few groups of customers.

Mr. Binh said that in the past 3 months, when the traffic police often set up checkpoints at intersections on Pham Van Dong Street, the number of customers coming to his restaurant was less than half. Most of the customers who came to the restaurant to eat and drink took motorbike taxis. There were also customers who drove motorbikes to the restaurant but they did not drink much beer, so the revenue was not much.

"I spend 30 million VND per month to rent a space and 40 million VND to pay 5 employees. It means that the restaurant must have a monthly revenue of more than 100 million VND to survive.

The number of customers has decreased significantly in the past few months, so I have had to use income from other businesses to make up for it. I invested a large amount of money to open the shop, but now I can't bear to close it," said Mr. Binh.

Nhiều quán nhậu ở TPHCM vắng như chùa Bà Đanh vì khách sợ… uống bia - 1 — The DJ bar on Pham Van Dong Street was deserted at 9:00 p.m. on November 22 (Photo: An Huy).

Mr. Binh said that the current regulations on alcohol concentration penalties are very strict. Even a little alcohol concentration in the breath is also fined, so few people dare to drink beer. "My restaurant has dishes such as beer-steamed shrimp, beef cooked in wine... sometimes customers come to the restaurant so much that they don't dare to eat, so it's no wonder that revenue hasn't decreased," Mr. Binh said.

In addition, Mr. QV (45 years old), owner of a 10-room karaoke bar on Nguyen Duy Trinh Street (Thu Duc City) also admitted that since the traffic police tightened alcohol testing of traffic participants, the amount of beer consumed at his establishment has clearly decreased.

Mr. V. said that before the Covid-19 outbreak, his bar sold no less than 20 cases of beer each night. Currently, his bar sells no more than 7 cases of beer each night.

"Customers who come to karaoke bars mainly go to the bar after eating and drinking somewhere else. The bar's revenue mainly comes from singing and beer. This alcoholic beverage accounts for half of the bar's income. Customers no longer drink beer freely like before, so revenue has also decreased by nearly 50%," said Mr. V.

According to Mr. V., not only karaoke bars but also drinking establishments are in a similar situation. Part of the decrease in beer is due to the decrease in the number of customers. This year, the economic situation is difficult, so customers are also hesitant about spending money on food and entertainment.

The rooms where customers drink a lot of beer will increase revenue, because the restaurant does not sell food. Many customers come to the karaoke bar by motorbike taxi or taxi. There are also cases where customers drink at the restaurant and then drive home by motorbike, but it is not as crowded as before.

Nhiều quán nhậu ở TPHCM vắng như chùa Bà Đanh vì khách sợ… uống bia - 2 — With no revenue, employees have to sit around waiting for customers, many restaurants have had to cut staff (Photo: Hoang Huong).

Meanwhile, through a survey by reporters, some drivers of technology-based motorbike taxi companies such as Grab, Gojek, Be... admitted that the number of customers coming to drinking establishments by technology-based motorbike taxi has increased, but it is impossible to verify how much or how little, because the number of drivers operating in this field is too large.

Mr. Tran Thanh Long (24 years old, Grab bike driver) said that every long-time driver knows the experience in choosing a pick-up point. From 9pm onwards, the driver will park near drinking streets such as Pham Van Dong, Truong Sa, Hoang Sa...

These places will have a higher chance of "exploding" than other areas and most of the customers are people who have had a bit of alcohol and are afraid of being checked by the traffic police.

"I set a target of having to welcome at least two guests each night who have been drinking at some places before coming back to rest. These guests have a bit of alcohol in them so the tips are also more generous," said Mr. Long.

The owner is suffering losses.

Mr. Dan, manager of a pub on Pham Van Dong Street (Thu Duc City), said that the business situation of the pub has become difficult in the past 3 months. It is not only the peak alcohol concentration measurement that makes people afraid to go drinking, Mr. Dan pointed out that another reason is the economic situation at the end of the year, everyone wants to save money to spend on their family.

In the past, the restaurant had a fairly stable income, with an average daily revenue of 12 to 15 million VND. However, now, with only a few tables each day, it only earns 3 to 4 million VND, and some days it even earns nothing. Meanwhile, the cost of the premises, electricity and water, staff salaries, raw materials, etc. is hard to cover.

"Before, my restaurant had 3 waiters, 1 parking attendant, 2 cooks, but this time we had to cut staff because without customers we couldn't make ends meet. Even though we had promotional programs like flat-price beer, free food, and even ran ads continuously, it wasn't very feasible.

Besides, the beer brands stopped signing sponsorship contracts because they did not meet sales targets, causing the restaurant to lose a part of its expenses," Mr. Dan confided.

Nhiều quán nhậu ở TPHCM vắng như chùa Bà Đanh vì khách sợ… uống bia - 3 — A pub on Pham Van Dong Street had to close and move premises (Photo: Hoang Huong).

The same situation is also happening at pubs in the central area of District 1. Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat (44 years old), general manager of a pub on Hoang Sa Street (Da Kao Ward, District 1) said that since the peak of alcohol concentration testing, the pub's business situation has also been significantly affected.

According to Mr. Dat, people's drinking habits have changed a lot recently. Previously, the restaurant served 500 to 700 customers per day, but now it only receives about 100 customers per day. The restaurant's revenue has decreased, plus it has to pay for the premises and many other expenses, so it has been forced to cut staff.

"To adapt to this situation, the restaurant has many programs, taking care of old customers, calling to ask about them, but they also shared that during the peak of the inspection period, they are afraid to drink far away, so they choose to drink near home or organize drinking at home.

On our Fanpage, we also introduced take-away sales, but the number of customers ordering is very low. In fact, people who go out to eat and drink pay attention to the space and scenery. Sitting and chatting at the restaurant is still more fun and comfortable than at home," said Mr. Dat.

In addition, the restaurant encourages customers to park their vehicles, providing free parking, and does not let customers drive home. Many customers agree, but some also want to drive home so they can get to work the next morning.

Meanwhile, some shops have available premises but business is not very favorable.

Mr. Quang (48 years old), owner of a beer house on Tran Quang Khai Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, said that in recent months the number of customers has decreased by more than 50%, and the restaurant has no revenue.

"If this situation continues, next year my shop will probably not be able to hold on and will have to close. The alcohol concentration checkpoint is only a dozen meters away from my shop, so passersby do not dare to enter, so there is no revenue. Now most of the customers are just regulars who visit the shop, each day I only earn 1 to 2 million VND, not enough to cover expenses," Mr. Quang confided.