Just a year ago, restaurant owner, Hermes to
Martinez was running a thriving gourmet burger business in Caracas
, Venezuela. But now he's closing his three stores
and putting the restaurant's equipment up for sale. Despite
years of economic crisis and an annual inflation rate near
500%. Hundreds of restaurants opened in Venezuela last year
. The boom took hold amid President Nicolas Maduro's efforts
to open up the economy by allowing a widespread use
of the US dollar. But 40% of them were
targeted in a high end market that quickly got saturated
with dining options. So when a massive slump in
consumer activity hit the economy with sales dropping almost 20%
in February, many were caught off guard. Some
restaurants had to cut staff lower their prices. And
in the worst cases, closing shop at its peak
, Martinez's business sold 200 burgers a day but in
his shop's final days, they were only selling 30
. Another one of those impacted was Rafael Gonzalez who
has steaks in three eateries. Gonzalez recently had to
fire half the workers in one of the restaurant he
owns and tap his personal savings to pay those who
remain. Despite the initial optimism that drove restaurant openings
. Maduro's easing of economic controls is flying progress has
been uneven and inflation and currency depreciation remain persistent for
entrepreneurs like Martinez and Gonzalez. It's a reminder there's
no easy way out of Venezuela's economic crisis.