Easy Restaurants close amid pandemic pressures

This promising franchise system was attracting hoards of new investors across Europe after developing a successful business model which saw beer and wine lovers enjoying a totally new experience sampling beverages – all while eating Easy’s signature dishes.

As it stands, the companies’ franchises in locations such as Lativa, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Georgia have joined thousands of businesses across Europe and the world who have closed amidst strict government regulations during the CV-19 pandemic.

Only one Easy Beer franchise is left out of the system which is left operating in Slovenia, mainly by a delivery-based structure.

Easy Restaurant franchise developer, Juris Roganovs, believes the Easy Restaurant business is finished and is unlikely to restart.

“It was an exciting concept to develop, but now I’m doing similar products for different clients without the franchise,” Juris said.

According to Roganovs, there are several contributing factors which led to the demise of the franchise.

Firstly, “restaurants were located in touristic areas where life came to a halt after lockdowns,” he said.
 
“Lockdown happened right after the months with the lowest profitability each year in these hotspots (Jan/Feb) so there were not enough reserves for businesses to pay rent and debts to suppliers.”

Furthermore, “owners of the premises were not interested in negotiating rent,” leaving small businesses owners in a tough place financially to survive the storm, claimed Roganovs. 

Juris also suggested government support has been insufficient for many businesses to survive during the lockdown periods of the pandemic.