Maybe it will happen to you too. When we spend a good time outside of our federal entity, or the country, we miss the flavors of home, the foods with which we grew up. It happens to me with aguachile, machaca, corn tamales, casserole.
Mexico, we know it well, has an extraordinary gastronomy. And most of us Mexicans are greedy. I do not have that exact statistic, but I suspect that I am correct. With this scenario, it is easy to assume a restaurant industry that is central to the country and its development. That’s what these figures are about.
There are approximately 650,000 restaurants in Mexico. We have just been told this by a recent publication by INEGI and CANIRAC. They represent about 12 out of every 100 economic units in our country and generate just over two million jobs. That gives us an idea of the size of this industry, which not only makes life “tastier”, it also decisively boosts the economy.
Most of our restaurants, 42 out of 100, are for antojitos or tacos and cakes. This sector is also made up mainly of micro-businesses, that is, those that employ up to 10 people: 96 out of every 100 restaurants in the country correspond to this size.
Years ago I interviewed the owner of a Spanish food restaurant. And one of the answers that I do not forget was the one he noted when I asked him what had motivated him to start that business. “The flavors I missed from my childhood,” he told me. In his case, he referred to beef, fish and shellfish from the Cantabrian Sea, and paella. That restaurant, precisely, closed more than a year ago due to the pandemic crisis.
Due to the restrictions and closures of establishments at the beginning of the health crisis due to Covid-19, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the restaurant industry and that of the national economy showed a deep drop in the second quarter of 2020. Without a doubt , were one of the industries most affected. Both owners and collaborators. Although with a greater damage on women, because it is an industry that is mainly occupied by them. Approximately 56 of every 100 employed in this industry are women.
From INEGI we also know that the proportion of total spending by families on food and beverages outside the home (restaurants) was 23% in 2018 and fell to 13% in 2020.
As I researched these numbers, I kept thinking about many of the restaurants that collaborate to add a lot more flavor to my life. My countrymen will understand what I mean by remembering the tacos from con Chepe, those from Pancho Reyes, the ones with Gabino Burgos-style carnitas, the breakfasts at El Vergel, the seafood in almost all the restaurants in Altata, to name just a few of the many. that I appreciate and miss. To them, especially, a very grateful hug for those flavors.
@VicenteAmador
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Master in Communication
Stories told
Communication, Public Affairs and Political Strategy Consultant.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx