bars and restaurants celebrate record movement

The 21st and 22nd of March 2023 will remain in the memory of many people. The performances of the British band Coldplay thrilled fans, surprised and moved the city. Even those who didn’t go to the show felt the movement: in the traffic, in the streets full of tourists, in the crowded hotels and, mainly, in the crowded bars and restaurants.

“The movement in our restaurants, cafes, bakeries and other services is impressive. More than forty thousand people at the shows and half of them tourists”, commented the deputy mayor of Curitiba, Eduardo Pimentel, on the morning of this Thursday (23), during a technology event.

Coldplay effect exceeds expectations

And it was really a pleasant surprise for many. “Better than the World Cup”, celebrates Delio Canabrava, chef and restaurateur, owner of two gastronomic establishments in the city. According to the businessman, from Monday (20) to Wednesday (22), the flow of people was great in both ventures.

“My bar is on Itupava, close to the concert venue. The restaurant is on Batel, an area with many hotels. The occupancy was surprising in both”, he says. Delio says that it was necessary to hire freelancers at the last minute and he himself, who normally works in the administrative area, had to take care of the salon and provide support in the kitchen.

Businesswoman Débora Moreira describes the number of customers in her establishment in the last two days as surreal. The hamburger shop opened two weeks ago, in the vicinity of Couto Pereira, there was a queue of customers waiting to be served. “We organized ourselves very well, because we believed there would be a good movement, but nothing prepared us for the avalanche of people we serve”, she completes.

The businesswoman says that the interesting thing about this event was that people all arrived at the same time. “In a matter of five minutes, more than a hundred people entered our establishment”, she describes. She even released images from the security cameras, showing the evolution of the movement of customers, in a short period of time.

Optimism in the tourist chain

With so many tourists in the city, the hotel sector was another segment positively impacted by the British band. The general manager of the Grand Mercure Curitiba Rayon, Fernando Kanbara, says that the hotel, which is located in the center of the city, had 100% occupancy in the two days of the event. “It surprised us because we imagined a high occupancy, but not capacity. The most positive thing about it was that we were able to increase our average daily rate”, he adds.

And in this chain of events – tourism – gastronomy, the city wins, commerce wins and visitors win. “Curitiba has everything very close by, regardless of where the event takes place, people can get around easily, stay in various parts of the city and get to know the restaurants and sights around the city”, comments Canabrava.

The businessman stresses the importance of all sectors being ready to receive these people, as there are more shows to come. “We’re going to have the Festival de Curitiba, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and many others. We, the managers, are really rooting for more concerts and more events to come” he comments.

“It’s not just the flow of people at show time. We already understand that people who participate in these shows arrive in the city earlier, stay, walk around and need places to eat. Therefore, the expectation is great for the next events “, completes businesswoman Débora.