This story was a doozy. I was given 24 hours to do features about eateries during the lockdown. An idea the editorial plagiarized from another publication.

It was a facepalm that was so hard that it dazed me. There’s a movement restriction order. I got to find six bosses of six different eateries and ask them about how their business is going, how is their outlook, and general banter.

Thankfully, I have a friend who knows someone who knows a lot of F&B folks.

The first person I contacted is David. An entrepreneur at heart, his thoughts on the lockdown’s effect on the industry are dire. “All these restaurants that do deliveries and takeout are just making themselves feel better,” he said. Hinting that there is no light for most F&B businesses at the end of the MCO tunnel.

On the flipside, there is everyone else. The group of friends, each is running a very unique business, from ice cream to crepe, and from meats to healthy foods. If they were worried, they really didn’t show it. And I think a big part of this confidence comes from a support system. Camaraderie, solidarity, friendship, and perhaps scale.

They believe they can adapt and survive, make the best out of the situation. It’s heartening.

It is also at this time that they, and others I bet, learn who are their real friends. Who are the malls that charge them despite not being able to open their shop, which services take advantage and charge them more, and how they can be more independent.