Yao Wenlong's JB Eatery Biz Down 90% Due To Covid-19: "We're In Deep Trouble If This Continues"

Yao Wenlong makes darn good pao fan. He personally cooks at his restaurant in Johor Bahru, Sun Gourmet Kitchen, which is so popular that even veteran actor Terence Cao had to wait half an hour for a table. But the eatery’s business was recently hit hard by Covid-19 and Malaysia’s implementation of a movement control order (MCO). “Our business dropped by 80% to 90%,” Wenlong tells 8days.sg over the phone in Mandarin. “We’re just trying to keep our staff and continue paying their salaries. All of our shareholders are not drawing a salary now to save the company.”

To make ends meet, Wenlong is utilising the restaurant’s reserve fund. “We’ve a reserve that we’re dipping into now. We’re prepared to use the funds to tide over the next few months. There’s enough to last us for three months, but we’re in deep trouble if this continues. We can only try to stay afloat, then we can start again when the situation gets better,” he shares.