Author restoration in Portugal is facing a period of strong financial pressure, even among renowned and internationally distinguished names. The general increase in costs, combined with the market’s resistance to accepting new price adjustments, is reducing margins and putting the sustainability of several gastronomic projects into question.
This scenario is publicly assumed by Rui Paula, a chef with two Michelin stars, who recognizes that the economic model of restaurants has changed structurally. The person responsible admits that the viability of the business has come to depend on an increasingly difficult balance between investment, fixed costs and revenue.
Shorter and shorter margins
Speaking to TV Guia magazine, Rui Paula assumes that the sector is going through “a very complicated phase”, arguing that it is necessary to “have a lot of judgement” in the daily management of restaurants. The chef emphasizes that recent investments are not having the expected return.
The person responsible for the DOP, in Porto, explained that the increase in prices throughout the entire chain is having a direct impact on profitability. “I spent a lot of money, made a lot of investments and the return that was coming is not coming”, he stated, adding that “the profit is getting less and less”.
Costs rise, prices don’t keep up
The publication writes that the chef chose not to reflect the increases in menu prices, as he considered that this decision would alienate customers. “We have not reflected the increases in menu prices, it would be suicide,” he declared.
The magazine adds that this strategy has direct consequences on the final accounts. Rui Paula admits that restaurants have reached a limit point, where it is not possible to increase prices, but it is also not sustainable to continue absorbing successive cost increases.
A warning for the future of the sector
He says that the chef sees this impasse as a real threat to the continuity of many businesses. From his perspective, the restaurant industry is at a “dangerous crossroads”, with no room for financial maneuver.
Rui Paula also argues that the situation requires external responses. “If nothing is done, many more restaurants will close in the near future, because it is impossible to support the constant increases throughout the business chain”, he warned.
According to chef Rui Paula’s website, his cuisine is based on a strong connection to origins and emotional memory, combining tradition and innovation. Born in Porto, it was his Trás-os-Montes roots and family influence that gave rise to his relationship with gastronomy.
Refers to the same source as the DOC, in Douro; the DOP, in the historic center of Porto; and Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, in Leça da Palmeira, seek to offer differentiated experiences, even in an economic context that requires increasingly cautious management.
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