Thousands of businesses in Pattaya have lost all of their income due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted all tourism to Thailand. The dire situation was compounded with the spread of the third wave of Covid-19, which forced bars and pubs to either shut down completely or switch to serving only food and drinks in the hope that they will be able to survive for the next few months until the situation improves.
One such establishment, once known as the Cha DoDo bar on the road leading to Dong Tan Beach in Jomtien, has had to adapt with the times by converting their once-thriving bar into a food and drink shop.
Run by Thanasit Wejthub and his mother, the eatery now known as Cha DoDo Food and Drinks serves European and Thai food priced from only 59 baht. Their specialties also include Taiwanese beverages, tea and coffee.
An essential tool to help bring in more Thai customers, most businesses have joined the Go Halves, Rao Chana, and Rao Rak-kan programs that are great for Thai customers because their expenditures are subsidized to a certain limit by the government.
Moreover, because of the increased interest in online businesses where hundreds of thousands of Thais are trying to sell their products, the Cha DoDo premises also serves as an agency for the Flash Home courier service for people to send and receive their goods.
Thanasith says that the current restrictions on selling alcoholic drinks have hurt his business even more, but he hopes this ban will end soon.
The young businessman said, “I am still very optimistic and with the small additions to my business combined with the extreme sacrifices made by my staff, many of whom I have hired from hotels, we are able to operate with a barest of income to share with our dedicated team. We will get through this together.”
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