Hanoi restaurants lose customers as alcohol checks intensify
Many restaurants in Hanoi have reported falling numbers of customers after more drink-driving checkpoints have been set up during the year-end festive season.
A beer restaurant near the West Lake received few customers on a weekend evening.
A staff member at the restaurant said that the number of customers had recently fallen, maybe due to police intensifying alcohol testing on drivers.
There's a sign that reads No Drink Driving in the restaurant parking area. Customers can leave their vehicles overnight free of charge.
Customer Pham Thi Van said that she and a group of friends had gone for drinks, and they all went by taxi.
Many restaurants on Nguyen Van Huyen Street were also quieter than before.
The same scene was seen on a row of beer restaurants along Hoang Cau Lake.
A restaurant by the Ngoc Khanh Lake had only ten customers on a weekend day.
The restaurant's owner, Nguyen Phuong, said that they used to receive lots of reservations for Christmas or New Year parties in previous years. However, few customers have booked so far this year. "Maybe it's due to the economic downturn and people are tightening their budgets," Phuong said. "There’s also more police checkpoints being put up around the city which is also discouraging partygoers."
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