With closed doors, an empty interior and a “For Sale” sign, a private restaurant on Infanta Street, in Central Havana, is one of many businesses up for auction in Cuba, where the economic crisis and mass exodus have made the undertaking an almost impossible path.
The place, where it was planned to open a gastronomic business, never served a single dish because its owners gave up the effort and, now, they have put it up for sale for $400,000. “You can rent the entire space for 3,000 a month,” they add via WhatsApp when a potential buyer is interested.
The closing and closing of the palatewhich did not even have a sign with its name, affects the residents who were waiting for its opening to see tourists and foreign currency arrive in the neighborhood, the money that is needed to get out of the hole in which most of the families in an area have sunk that doesn’t have the glamor of El Vedado or the attractions of the historic center of Old Havana.
“They didn’t even sell a fry but they spent a lot on the investment, because before this was very deteriorated,” he tells 14ymedio Pocholo, who lives a few doors from the failed restaurant. “They even built a mezzanine to multiply the space. Then came the monetary order, tourism did not return as expected and having a paladar is crazy right now.”
Obtaining raw materials, paying for what a place open to the public consumes –from toilet paper to electricity– and paying employees has become a chimera for many private business owners on the Island. Added to this is the fact that, given the situation that the country is experiencing, the sale of any possession can help in the extended project of emigrating.
“I’m selling a hairdresser with everything inside,” announces Dayana, a 38-year-old from Havana who, until a few months ago, offered her services in a small shop on San Rafael Street, near Galiano Avenue. “I know that I am not going to recover the investment but I need the money urgently,” she tells this newspaper. “I’m giving for $25,000 which is worth almost twice as much.”
Dayana’s living room was converted into a hairdressing salon and beauty center. “Everything is new, from the tiles in the bathroom to the plumbing. I have a heater installed, kiwi for the water pressure, everything is freshly painted and I have two floors”, details the woman. “I provide it with all the accessories that are needed to keep it working and with a very loyal clientele”.
Dayana remembers that five years ago she began to transform her house into a private business. “If someone had told me at that time that I was going to end up selling all this and buying myself a ticket to Nicaragua, I would have laughed in their face.” But the husband of this entrepreneur took “the route of the volcanoes” a few months ago and the rigors of the couple’s separation have been joined by the crisis that Cuba is going through.
“I don’t even know how much I’m going to charge people who come to get a peel or a facial treatment, because I have to buy all the products in dollars or in MLC (freely convertible currency), but I have to continue charging services in pesos. So no one works.” The woman regrets having to finish off what they consider to be “the greatest pride” of her life.
“I’m selling a cafeteria, working. Located in El Vedado. I’m selling it because I’m leaving the country,” says Suselle bluntly in an ad that she has posted on various classifieds sites and that she has also sent to friends and acquaintances on Telegram and WhatsApp. “The payment is in dollars to put in the United States.” Since she spread the offer, she clarifies, she has only received a couple of calls.
“I understand that few people are interested because many Cubans want to leave the country and buying a business of this type is not among their projects right now,” admits Suselle. “But it is also a good time to invest, because I am giving this same business for a price well below what it costs.”
In the purchase and sale portals, there are advertisements that are repeated for several weeks or months and every so often the price falls a little more. “Reduced to $17,500, take advantage now,” says one of these classifieds that has been appearing again and again on those digital sites for more than half a year. “Two in one: home and photocopy business, printing of documents and copying of films and series”, she adds.
“I have 24 hard drives full of audiovisuals and two computers that are a cannon.” The seller underscores what so many others say about his business: “it’s up and running and making money,” but few seem interested in the advertised “bargain.” “Half of the money here in dollars and the other in the United States,” the ad ends.
Together with the premises, they are also auctioned off sets kitchen cabinets, display refrigerators, large capacity fryers, scrubbing machines, bill counting devices and cash registers, all the “trousseau” that accompanies restaurants and cafeterias. “I sell more than a business, a dream,” assured the owner of a rental house for tourists in the city of Holguín.
“Five bedrooms, five bathrooms, garden and pool,” the ad details. “I’m in a hurry so I listen to offers, but don’t call me if you don’t have dollars.” In the photos that she has posted next to the ad, you can see a ranchón in the patio, a pool table and a spectacular view of the city. And the message concludes: “The villa is delivered with everything inside.”
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