by Kostas Zaligkas
ATHENS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Restaurateur Panagiotis Klapadakis will not throw a party with his customers for Greece's exit from the harsh bailout programs after eight years of debt crisis this Monday. Nevertheless, he is facing the next day with optimism, despite his accumulated debts to the tax office and social security funds.
Greece's foodservice sector exits the bailout era bruised, but still standing. Greeks still enjoy a night out with friends at the local tavern or cafeteria, even though they have cut down on spending after years of austerity and recession as GDP shrank by a quarter since 2010.
More than 8,000 catering companies closed down all over Greece during the crisis, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
Employment in the sector fell sharply from 140,100 in 2008 to 111,400 by 2014.
Annual consumption of food and beverages has declined by 20 percent in the period 2010-2015, according to a recent survey by the Economic and Industrial Research Foundation (IOBE) think tank.
"People are now less scared compared to previous years when spending on food and drinks. I believe that until next summer I will be able to pay back half of my debts," he told Xinhua.
Klapadakis, 37, owner for the last four years of "Stroggilofanaro" (Round Lantern) tavern in central Athens, invested on good quality and fairly low prices. Yet his earnings remain limited.
Despite the financial difficulties Greeks do not stay at home, but go out to meet their friends and share a snack or drink a glass or beer or wine. But not much else, he stressed. His customers don't consume much and they usually stay in the tavern for three hours drinking just one or two bottles of beers.
"The taverns and the cafes are full of people, but the young ones will eat something at home and go out for just a beer, while the older ones, who can spend some money, will go out once a month or twice," the restaurateur explained.
"I've always known all these years that I have been working in this business that I'm not going to be rich. But I still barely cover my basic personal expenses from the tavern," he said.
He hopes that things will change to the better after the exit from the bailouts, as consumers' psychology may improve.
He remembers several occasions during the past four years when news from Euro group meetings was bad for Greece. That meant that people would stay at home and not go out for a drink or dinner.
"If the news programs on TV say that the bailout programs are over for Greece, that affects people and they start to believe that better days are coming," he said.
A serious threat for his tavern as well as for thousands of other businesses in Greece is the debt load accumulated from previous years. Arrangements made by the government for repaying debts to the tax authorities and pension funds are positive initiatives, but it is difficult for a businessman to take advantage of them.
"I would like to be accepted to the 120-tranche program and pay off my debts gradually, but the conditions are very strict. You have to be profitable for a year and I have not managed to do that," Klapadakis told Xinhua.
"I really want to pay for my obligations, but I constantly meet a wall in front of me. And many other businessmen are like me. We want to be consistent in our obligations, but the state must help us more in this direction," he stressed.
