Jerusalem businesses struck by economic pandemic: ‘Sales are terrible’

Asher Tavor, 34, is hoping he will not be in the same situation. He told the Post that he is making 40% of what he used to by running a Roladin coffee shop near the Mahane Yehuda market.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
Windows are shuttered and signs hang that read “for sale” or “to rent.” (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Windows are shuttered and signs hang that read “for sale” or “to rent.”
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Windows are shuttered and signs hang that read “for sale” or “to rent.” The streets of Jerusalem’s city center are less crowded than they once were, as the coronavirus pandemic has struck the nation’s health and its economy.
A sign outside a closed phone store lets the public know the space is now empty.
“It was rented for nearly 20 years by a very nice man,” the landlord told The Jerusalem Post. “We agreed to allow him to skip rent for three months, but it wasn’t enough and he eventually had to close.”
Windows are shuttered and signs hang that read “for sale” or “to rent.”
Windows are shuttered and signs hang that read “for sale” or “to rent.”
 
Asher Tavor, 34, is hoping he will not be in the same situation. He told the Post that he is making 40% of what he used to by running a Roladin coffee shop near the Mahaneh Yehuda market.
“When the novel coronavirus struck, I lost 85% of my earnings,” he said. “I had 14 workers, and I needed to send them all on unpaid leave and didn’t pay myself a salary for five months. Now I brought back four workers.”
One of them is his brother, 21-year-old David Tavor.
“The franchise helped me out,” the older brother said, “but the state didn’t. I didn’t get even one shekel beyond the NIS 750 ‘check for every citizen’ grant.”
He had opened his Jerusalem franchise just 18 months ago and could not provide data on his previous annual income to get aid for small businesses, like many others.
“People think of coffee as a basic item, like water, so coffee sales are still ok,” he told the Post. “But all the special offers of coffee plus pastry and food sales are down. People only buy what they need now.”
He said that before the pandemic, when hungry or homeless people would come in and ask for handouts he would try to help. Now, “I tell them I need help myself. I poured my own savings into the business to keep it afloat; all I want now is to break even.”
Jerusalem businesses struck by economic pandemic: ‘Sales are terrible.’
Jerusalem businesses struck by economic pandemic: ‘Sales are terrible.’
 
Aviva Gar, 51, owns an Ethiopian spice store called Tzhai Barkai, which she started two years ago.
“Sales are terrible now,” she told the Post. “People are out of work.”
She told about a man who before the pandemic would work a day job and then come by to purchase teff flour, Buna coffee and Injera [bread].
“Now people are poor,” she said.
Gar said she means to keep the store open until the end of September. But if things don’t pick up, she’ll be forced to close.
“We Israelis pay so much tax,” she said. “Why aren’t we getting more help? I have family in the US, they are also out of work, but they got $1,000.”
Gar said she hasn’t gotten any support from the government.
Elazar Refoua, 63, has been selling Judaica to tourists for 40 years. Now, there are no tourists. Instead, he sells challah covers that used to go for NIS 125, for NIS 59.
But Refoua said he did get government support and for that he is very thankful.
“I want to thank the country for giving me this grant,” he told the Post. “Thanks to that money, I was able to buy new merchandise and start again.
“We are not poor,” he continued. “We want to work. And, thank God, Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live on). We have had wars and terror attacks, and business bounced back in 10 days.
“This coronavirus war is the hardest war we’ve had, and it’s been going on for eight months,” he concluded. “But with God’s grace, unity and obeying the law and the Health Ministry’s guidelines, we’ll win this war, too.”
 
Jerusalem businesses struck by economic pandemic: ‘Sales are terrible.’
Jerusalem businesses struck by economic pandemic: ‘Sales are terrible.’
Despite all the difficulties, Ya’acov Elbert, 37, decided to open a new store. He launched Gustel, a high-end chocolate shop in a city not famous for its chocolates.
Elbert and his wife began taking their vacations in Paris after they were married and discovered that they both have an interest in the world of fine chocolates.
“After my wife returned to work when her maternity leave ended, I looked for good chocolates to give her and couldn’t find any here,” he told the Post.
He said in some other cities there are fine chocolate shops, but not Jerusalem. So he wanted to start one – even though people today spend less money on luxury items.
“Eventually, COVID-19 will pass and human relations will stay,” he said with hope.
He added that chocolates are “a great way to show love to people who might be at risk or are currently in quarantine.”
At the moment, the family shop, which is named after a great-grandmother, offers excellent lime chocolates, ganache and other delicacies. Children will enjoy the transparent wall which allows patrons to view Elbert as he labors.


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