Small businesses around the UK are drowning due to the economic crisis and the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic. This lethal combination threatens the future of street food sellers and other local businesses.
“My ambition is to open a factory; to put this food in many different shops of good food around London and I don’t know if I’ll manage that because the economy crisis with energy is really impacting my small business,” says Paola Battista, director of Italian takeaway shop Gustosissima in Forest Hill and weekend farmer’s market stall at the Horniman Museum.
Evidently, street food sellers are doubtful whether their industry can survive the current economic crisis due to the dwindling numbers of customers.
Genuinely enthusiastic about the beauty of food, culture, and connections, Gustosissima and other street food stalls epitomise the increasingly popular ‘simple life’. These businesses nurture a sincere connection between customers and sellers, as Battista recalls customers phoning her to ask for advice on how to use her products. This strikingly contrasts the impersonal restaurant franchises which often fail to convey this pure dedication and authenticity. A genuine love of food is what classically weds the people, the sellers, and the food, according to Battista.
Proudly displaying an array of authentic, thoughtfully vacuum-packed pasta sauces, main courses and sides, Battista delights in sharing her knowledge, passion and expertise with customers, devising an Italian wonderland to escape this time of challenge for many.
Reminiscent of a family recipe book, sellers aspire to blend their cultures by offering advice to their customers and creating a captivatingly warm, homely atmosphere.
Battista grew up the youngest of a large family, faithfully believing in the integrity of food to family life and happiness. She fondly remembers her family’s pleasure: “Meeting around the table, because after that moment everybody was busy.” Keen to capture the essence of family life through cooking for others, Battista cherishes the beauty in giving an expert perspective on using her products, made with love.
Society grows more insular, with people increasingly resorting to online delivery services. Meanwhile street food sellers seek to sustain the opportunity to overcome this trend by interacting and connecting directly with clients. Battista even admits: “I tend to switch off the online part because I miss the connection with the customers, I want to see the face of the people,” stressing the unique value of direct seller to customer interaction vital to this craft industry.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Battista used to run her street food stall 4 days a week, selling 120 portions of handmade Italian food per hour. Now, she reaches a maximum of 70 portions per hour in the city due to the sharp decrease of workers in the offices. Battista explains: “I used to count on that cash flow and now I need to invent something else.” Furthermore, a cost of living crisis poses a serious threat to street food sellers, succeeding the drastic impact of COVID-19.
And yet, funky street food stalls are a great way to affordably eat out. In doing so, we contribute to small business growth and the community. Through these difficult times, street food offers loving authenticity and a way to socialise by sharing culture and passion.
Street food could yet be confessed as exactly the antidote we’re looking for in these troubled times.
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