Pubs and bars to open? They will hear their fate on Friday but PM favors later in July

[webfact]

Pubs and bars to open? They will hear their fate on Friday but PM favors later in July

 

Picture: Sanook

 

Thailand is set to discuss opening its nightlife entertainment industry again at a meeting on Friday. 

 

Yesterday the Covid-19 committee headed by Gen Nathaphon Nakphanich met with representatives of pubs, bars, karaokes and other entertainment venues who urged him to ease their pain and initiate Phase 5 of the release from lockdown. 

 

This followed meetings with musicians earlier, reported Sanook. 

 

Gen Nathaphon said he understood the hardship and difficulties being faced by the industry but they had to understand that this had to be handled carefully with advice from the health professionals.

 

Mostly the opening of the industry would depend on whether the emergency decree is extended or not. 

 

Opinions would be taken forward and discussed at the Covid-19 meeting on Friday June 26th. 

 

Thai Rath provided a tantalizing ray of hope for the industry and its patrons desperate to get out drinking again in Thailand's massive nightlife industry. They quoted Gen Nathaphon as saying that the prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha favors all businesses reopening sometime in July. 

 

Sources: Sanook | Thai Rath

 

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[herfiehandbag]

1st of August - that is when I get my first salary for five months, schools having been closed since March and no pay! I can't afford to go for a beer until then!

????

[BobbyL]

As I said in another thread, the pubs (or should we call them restaurants) on Suk 33/1 were all open, all serving booze and all packed on the weekend. I was very surprised to see it. 

 

Seems like these types of venues are all back to normal now. 

[baansgr]

The longer they leave it, the more the prices will go up...

[kingofthemountain]

23 minutes ago, webfact said:

They quoted Gen Nathaphon as saying that the prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha favors all businesses reopening sometime in July.

Then the reopening should be in July, since afaik the orders come from the top

i bet around the 12\15 of the next month can be ok

 

the problem is still the same for the bars in the tourist areas like Pattaya

with no customers (Or very few) is it good to open knowing as soon as you open again

the landlord charge you full rent (50% actualy for a lot of the closed bars) plus you have

to pay for salaries, electric and water bill and so on ? 

 

A lot of bar owners have already given the answer

they just call it a day and pack their stuff. they leave

everyday in Pattaya i see more and more bars becoming an

empty place with a big sign ''for sale'' or ''for rent''

Edited June 22, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[Thaiwrath]

23 minutes ago, webfact said:

Pubs and bars to open? They will hear their fate on Friday but PM favors later in July

If the truth be known, if they never opened again, the <deleted> would be very happy.

 

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

Mostly the opening of the industry would depend on whether the emergency decree is extended or not.

As there is no sign of his virus among people in the general population, this shows that the state of emergency is in place, purely for political reasons.

[JonnyF]

With no tourists, and a lot of the staff now living upcountry it's going to very difficult to re-open for a lot of the bars that were just about breaking even before C19.

 

Difficult to sell as well. Who wants to buy a business with extortionate rent, key money etc. when you will be the first to be shut down again at the first ripple of a second wave.

 

Good to see the "restaurants" on Sukhumvit opening up again though. I love restaurants with a large selection of draught beer, multiple bigscreen TV's and Irish pub names ????.

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

As there is no sign of his virus among people in the general population, this shows that the state of emergency is in place, purely for political reasons.

You are right but it's also a false excuse ''thai style'' to avoid to take a decision

in fact they are just trying to play the watch

the state of emergency wasn't a problem at all to reopen some weeks ago 

the massages, where the social distancing is not really possible for the happy ending

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

With no tourists, and a lot of the staff now living upcountry it's going to very difficult to re-open for a lot of the bars that were just about breaking even before C19.

 

Difficult to sell as well. Who wants to buy a business with extortionate rent, key money etc. when you will be the first to be shut down again at the first ripple of a second wave.

The staff is still here in town or can be here tomorrow if asked

the problem is the lack of customers for the bars catered to tourists

 

And you are right, there is actualy no buyer or renter for a bar in Thailand

or maybe 2 or 3 fools somewhere, but no more

It seems the landlords don't understand at all that they have interest to keep their actual renters

[philthebook]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

With no tourists, and a lot of the staff now living upcountry it's going to very difficult to re-open for a lot of the bars that were just about breaking even before C19.

 

Difficult to sell as well. Who wants to buy a business with extortionate rent, key money etc. when you will be the first to be shut down again at the first ripple of a second wave.

 

Good to see the "restaurants" on Sukhumvit opening up again though. I love restaurants with a large selection of draught beer, multiple bigscreen TV's and Irish pub names ????.

90% of bars, pubs and clubs cater for the domestic market, it's only the small percentage bars/clubs catering to foreign tourists that will struggle to make any money so open them up so people can get back to work and earn some money. 

[luckyluke]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

With no tourists, and a lot of the staff now living upcountry it's going to very difficult to re-open for a lot of the bars... 

Chatted with a owner of a bar/café here in Thonglor. 

That's what he wrote me last week :

 

"Due to staff issue. We’re looking forwards to opening within 2 weeks" 

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, philthebook said:

90% of bars, pubs and clubs cater for the domestic market, it's only the small percentage bars/clubs catering to foreign tourists that will struggle to make any money so open them up so people can get back to work and earn some money. 

You are right but there is few exceptions like Samui, Phuket or Pattaya

where 60 to 80 % of the bars pubs and clubs cater to the foreign tourists

i don;t know how they could survive in the actual conditions

[kingofthemountain]

4 minutes ago, luckyluke said:

Chatted with a owner of a bar/café here in Thonglor. 

That's what he wrote me last week :

 

"Due to staff issue. We’re looking forwards to opening within 2 weeks" 

Bars are not allowed to open yet by the government

so nothing of a ''staff issue'' at the moment imo

Edited June 22, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

i don;t know how they could survive in the actual conditions

They won't survive, it's that simple.

 

They can open the bars as soon as they want but if there are no tourists the market will whittle down those that rely on tourist customers and on operational turnover to pay monthly outgoings.

 

Businesses that rely on tourists are looking at a barren next six months, with a slow return to normalcy sometime next year at the earliest, possibly even later in 2022.

 

If they have not planned contingencies, it's all over. 

[luckyluke]

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

Bars are not allowed to open yet by the government

so nothing of a ''staff issue'' at the moment imo

They call it "bar/café" , but it's a bar/restaurant. 

"Younger" in the beginning of Soi 55.

 

[pixelaoffy]

   Later July? ! No reason for this at all ! Folk are in restaurants close together eating food in Pattaya Jomtien ! Nothing about length of time they are eating!   There are no new cases !!!! None! And to think the Poodle party of Prayut wins by elections massively ! The Thais lead by the nose and not thinking for themselves . Always will be 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by pixelaoffy

[kingofthemountain]

6 minutes ago, pixelaoffy said:

The Thais lead by the nose and not thinking for themselves . Always will be 

The thai school system is a joke

they are not prepared at all to think

nor to ask any question

all of this in accordance with the ''elites'' power and wishes

Thailand is the most inegalitary country in the world, with 1%

controlling 70% of the wealth of the country

they just don't want to share anything

including in these hard times

actualy it's often the ''farangs'' who feed the needy

i don't see a lot of governement or wealthy people actions to give food

Edited June 22, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[KhunKenAP]

Best investment is selling "Closed", "For Sale/Rent signs".

[2long]

Most on here tend to forget that they're in their own little bubbles. Yes, Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket cater to lots of tourists, and those tourists aren't in the country anymore. But we farang (especially expats) make up for a tiny proportion of the population, including the social drinking population. Thais like to go out for a drink, and maybe a rub & a tug. Live music, Johnnie Walker, etc etc. We farang need to forget about 'what's the point of opening if there are no tourists to spend money?'

Let the Thais make their decision on the pubs, for Thai people. And when tourists are allowed back, then there may be some bars left for them. It's the start of low season now anyway, so farang bars would have been expecting a lull in business until October.

[JonnyF]

39 minutes ago, philthebook said:

90% of bars, pubs and clubs cater for the domestic market, it's only the small percentage bars/clubs catering to foreign tourists that will struggle to make any money so open them up so people can get back to work and earn some money. 

Yeah, but it depends on where you're talking about. In Nakhon Nowhere and some areas of Bangkok it's mainly domestic. But certain areas of Bangkok (lower Sukhumvit, Silom etc.), and most of Phuket, Pattaya, Samui etc. the majority of bars and pubs need the tourists to make profit. 

 

It's expensive to open up when you've suddenly got to start paying full rent again, paying your staff, utilities etc. Bahtsold is full of bars and restaurants for sale that the owners have obviously decided it's not worth the bother. The money laundering places will obviously open as soon as they can.

 

I'm in favour of opening them up immediately but I just don't think it's as simple as that with the borders closed and the staff maybe having found other jobs, don't want to return to Bangkok etc. Clear direction from the cough "PM" would at least give them a chance to plan.

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Gen Nathaphon said he understood the hardship and difficulties being faced by the industry but they had to understand that this had to be handled carefully with advice from the health professionals

Yet just another Military General in control of things here. Atrocious at best. Wonder if he is talking about Coz playing not health professional Anutin the top Xenophobic Nutter? Besides, all and everyone of these Generals are quite wealthy and I would think they really do not care and feel anything. 

[Chivas]

Its not so much when the bars will open but what restrictions are then officially put in place to socially distance, wear face masks no interactions etc etc that will crucify the trade. Who wants to sit in a boozer like that. No one frankly....

[JonnyF]

9 minutes ago, 2long said:

Most on here tend to forget that they're in their own little bubbles. Yes, Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket cater to lots of tourists, and those tourists aren't in the country anymore. But we farang (especially expats) make up for a tiny proportion of the population, including the social drinking population. Thais like to go out for a drink, and maybe a rub & a tug. Live music, Johnnie Walker, etc etc. We farang need to forget about 'what's the point of opening if there are no tourists to spend money?'

Let the Thais make their decision on the pubs, for Thai people. And when tourists are allowed back, then there may be some bars left for them. It's the start of low season now anyway, so farang bars would have been expecting a lull in business until October.

I think people are well aware of the domestic market. But this is an expat forum, so it's natural that people discuss the expat scene, expat bar areas etc. and provide first hand or anecdotal knowledge on these areas and when they might open. 

 

Personally I'm not really affected if some tin shack Karaoke joint in Sakon Nakhon is selling Johnnie Walker to Somchai. Sure I want them to open so people can get back to work and earn some money, but I and many others don't really want to discuss them in depth on ThaiVisa. Hence the focus on our own "bubbles".

[Misterwhisper]

I am not sure I need bars or pubs anymore. Over the past three months I've become so conditioned to drinking at home (and saving tons of money in the process) that I probably won't venture out at all even if all watering holes should re-open at once.

[Oldie]

3 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

I am not sure I need bars or pubs anymore. Over the past three months I've become so conditioned to drinking at home (and saving tons of money in the process) that I probably won't venture out at all even if all watering holes should re-open at once.

Here in Pattaya at some bars (fake restaurants) are sitting old Farangs with a big bottle of beer in front of them and this starts at daytime already. Almost nobody talks. I ask myself if this is the only entertainment that is left in their life. I don't want to end like this. 

[smedly]

2 hours ago, philthebook said:

90% of bars, pubs and clubs cater for the domestic market,

oh ?

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

The longer they leave it, the more the prices will go up...

Maybe the longer they leave it, the more the prices (which the desperate and bankrupt owners will be prepared yo accept for the businesses) will go down. Could that be a factor in the languorous decision making process I wonder?

[rott]

33 minutes ago, Oldie said:

Here in Pattaya at some bars (fake restaurants) are sitting old Farangs with a big bottle of beer in front of them and this starts at daytime already. Almost nobody talks. I ask myself if this is the only entertainment that is left in their life. I don't want to end like this. 

They are sitting alone in some bars because of social distancing. 

 

But after being denied the opportunity for so long some just like to sit in a bar/pub/resto whatever and have a few beers. 

[bkk6060]

I don't understand why so many are complaining and want the bars open.  Seriuosly, anyone ever hear a positive report on a bar?  

The beer is too expensive.

The beer is not cold.

The beer bottle condom is dirty.

The mixed drinks are weak and too expensive.

The staff is rude.

The service is lousy.

The bargirls are ugly.

The place is too hot.

The place is too loud.

I am sure I can go on and on.

My favorite is "they steal and cheat you on the bill".  With the brillant comebacks:  When I pay with 1000 b, I raise the 1000 in the air and say loudly 2 times 1000!  This way everyone knows how I paid and they cannot cheat me.

Wow, great.  All sounds like such a fun blast of a time.

 

The one thing I do miss is cruising past on my motorbike at 11am and seeing the unkempt, mentally ill looking Singha tank wearing guys nursing a beer.  Drive past again at 4pm and there they still are.

Looking dazed and confused starring blindly out into nothingness.

What a life. 

 

[nausea]

I heard from a little birdie that July 1 is now definitely a goer. We woñ't know for certain though until the Friday CCSA meeting.