Coronavirus: retailers reel as diners desert Chinese restaurants

Chinese-Australian retailers face revenue falls of up to 50 per cent as anxious customers stay away from shopping centres and restaurants.

’We’ve put in place precautions and disinfect our venues but what people are really afraid of is crowd,’ says Sydney’s Mr Stonepot owner Vincent Lei. Picture: Britta Campion.

Chinese-Australian retailers are reeling from drops of up to 50 per cent in revenue as the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus spreads.

The discovery of a second Victorian with coronavirus on Wednesday night has heightened anxiety about its potential to spread through Melbourne suburbs with a high Chinese population, with many residents staying away from shopping centres and restaurants.

The man, in his 60s and a ­recent visitor to Wuhan in China, had dined at The House of Delight Chinese restaurant in Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s southeast on Sunday before being diagnosed, leading to the state Health Department to ask other diners to contact it for advice.

The restaurant’s doors were closed on Thursday, a sign on the door advising it would not reopen before February 9. Other restaurants in the same complex were closed and the normally thriving shopping strip, with predominantly Asian shops and restaurants, was all but empty.

The House of Delight Restaurant in Glen Waverley, Melbourne. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Alex Lim, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Victoria said Chinese restaurants and retail outlets had taken a significant hit since news of the coronavirus broke more than a week ago.

“I’ve had reports that many of the Chinese restaurants have seen business down by around 40 per cent or more,” Mr Lim said. “If this goes on, it will be very hard for them … I think some will have to close if this goes on for too long.”

Boxes of food are removed from the building where the House of Delight restaurant is located. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Box Hill grocer Harley Liang in the city’s east said business had been poor all week. “We would be down 40 per cent from normal, and it’s definitely virus-related. People aren’t coming out,” he said. He had already cut down on casual staff shifts and said “we have lots of fruit that we haven’t sold that are starting to go bad’’.

In Sydney, Vincent Lei said the impact on his business was even worse as customers self-quarantined, with revenues halving in the past fortnight. “It’s been extremely tough for us, and at the moment it’s about survival," said Mr Lei, owner of the Mr Stonepot restaurant chain.

“It's not just my restaurants … All Chinese restaurants in the CBD and suburbs with high Chinese populations are affected.”

With more than 7000 confirmed cases of the virus in China, many Chinese-Australian leaders fear their community will be blamed or face stigma should the virus spread further.

Health officials have urged residents to go about their lives, saying there is no reason for healthy people to shy away from public gatherings.

“People quickly come to do their business but won’t stay for meals,” Mr Lei said. “We’ve put in place a lot of precautions and disinfect our venues but what people are really afraid of is crowd, and the closeness when you are out.”  The former chef said he had been forced to slash shifts and cut back on casuals in a bid to avoid closing his restaurants.

“I have to cut just less than half their hours,” he said. “We can barely cover our cost now, but I want to keep my restaurants open as long as I can because our employees need their jobs to make a living.”

Additional reporting: Heidi Han