BERLIN—Foodies in Germany have come up with an idea to help restaurants survive the current crisis: pay now and eat later.
Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops have been especially hard hit during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus crisis around the world as countries shut down large portions of their economy in an effort to contain the virus.
In Germany, the food industry is allowed to operate but can only offer takeout and deliveries.
According to a recent survey by a trade group, the average German restaurant will go bankrupt if the shutdown continues for more than five weeks.
There’s a new initiative that wants to do something about it.
Niclas Störmer’s food tour company in Hamburg was reliant on restaurants. Now, without any business, he and other foodies started non-profit initiative #PayNowEatLater.
“All the tours were canceled. And we are thinking, what can we do? And since we are very well connected with all the restaurants, we thought, well, we can do something for them so that they can survive,” said Störmer.
It’s simple: You purchase a voucher for your favorite restaurant, bar, or coffeeshop on their website. After the crisis is over, you redeem it. In the meantime, the restaurant has additional funds to pay its bills for employees or other running costs.
“You also get something worthwhile, because when the crisis is gone, as a customer, you get your food for what you pay for. … You also have the donation part and then of course, you want to make sure that your restaurant survives this crisis,” Störmer said.
In little more than two weeks, PayNowEatLater has already raised 386,000 euros (almost $420,000).
And it is expanding rapidly. Their website features over 600 restaurants in over 30 cities. They have even received a request from South Africa. Maybe they’ll come to the United States too.