Yonas Chercher Butchers, Bar & Restaurant, located around the Menaheria area of Kasanchis in Yeka District, is one of the most popular raw and fried beef eateries in town. So popular is it that it often causes a traffic jam during lunch hours.
That was before lent. On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 2, 2014, Yonas Girma, the owner, , and his two friends were chatting inside the spacious room, where there were no customers, although the place is now serving fasting foods.
Working in a society with a significant number of people adhering to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), butcheries in Addis Abeba normally see a significant decline during fasting seasons.
“My colleagues and I have neither the interest nor the experience in fasting foods,” says Yonas, who has been in the business for 10 years. “However, we are obliged to resort to these foods to salvage the shop from closure and maintain our employees.”
The first 15 days of the lent period, say Yonas, are usually liked and welcomed by those in the business, as many want to take advantage of the ample time they have to take a rest.
“But it gets more and more dull afterwards,” Yonas says. “You begin to feel the idleness and boredom.”
His business in pre-lent periods pays his monthly rent of 32,000 Br and the salaries of his 12 permanent employees, who are paid 900 to Br 2,500 Br a month.
The Doro Manekia area, near St George Church in Piazza, is a popular location for butcher’s stores in Addis Abeba, with 12 of them congested in a small area. All but two have remained open, and all the stores were full with fresh carcasses, although not as much as during pre-lent times. Messeret Turga, owner of one, says her daily sales were down to five sheep carcasses a day from as much as 30 previously.
“My permanent customers do not want to see a closed shop,” Messeret says.
According to the National Census conducted in 2007 by the Central Statistical Agency (CSA), over 32 million people, or 43.5pc of the Ethiopian population, were reported to be Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, while over 25 million or 33.9pc were reported to be Muslims. Some 18.6pc, according to the Census, were followers of the Protestant religion, while 2.6pc adhered to traditional beliefs.
Abebe Dunago, another owner of a similar business for 10 years and a devout Orthodox Christian, simply closes his store and sends his employees on annual leave.
“I do not have any interest to sell during lent, even if the turnout would have been immense,” he says.
Abebe closes the shop both during the lent and Filseta fasting seasons in August; losing customers has never been his worry. All the remaining butchers in the area say that closure would leave them no room to cover their costs.
One of these, Fasika Tadesse, says he keeps the shop open, in an attempt to scramble for customers, however few they may be.
Fassika would like to close, he says, but fears not being able to cover the cost of the house rent and the salaries of the employees.
The decline in the meat business is also acutely felt at the Addis Abeba Abattoirs Enterprise (AAAE), which conducts slaughtering and distribution of meat to businesses.
“The business suffers a slump,” says Tekolla Hailu, Service & Sales Directorate director at the Enterprise.
During the non-fasting season, the Enterprise distributes 1,200 cattle, 1,000 sheep and goat, 50 pig and 10 camel carcasses in a single day. The Enterprise distributes these to an average of 1,500 customers a day. Come lent, however, the distribution is considerably reduced, with cattle and sheep and goats declining to 400 and 300, respectively, according to Tekola.
The Enterprise charges 230 Br for big cattle, 140 Br for small cattle, including calves, 40 Br for sheep and goat meat, 140 Br for pig and 259 Br for camels a slaughter.
“As a governmental institution, the Enterprise has no external financial source,” says Tekola. “Hence, the slump during the two-month-long lent period hits it hard when it sells less.”
Nevertheless, the Enterprise prepares in advance as the lent season is faced every year.
“The reduction in business will be included while planning for every year,” Tekola told Fortune.
According to Fasika, the other challenge faced by those in the business is the length of time meat stays in the shop at room temperature.
“When meat stays unsold for over two days, we are forced to replace it with a fresh one, thus incurring a loss,” he said.
Most of the butcher’s stores are also eateries that offer beverages and liquors along with the food. The drink business, however, also follows the decline in meat sales during the fasting seasons.
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