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CNN Live At Daybreak

SARS Spread, Eating out in China

Aired June 03, 2003 - 05:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For diners in China the SARS outbreak put the brakes on regular eating habits, if you can believe it. But now, many are heading back to their favorite spot, as long as they feel safe about the food.
CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver has this story from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wang Li, lining up for a ritual of modern life and a quick dose of convenience at McDonald's. The threat of SARS hasn't stopped her from risking infection. In fact, this is the first time she and her family have eaten out in weeks, and for the first meal out, the very symbol of global fast food domination is what she picked based on the perception that it's more sanitary.

WANG LI, DINER (through translator): Because we have a child, we were afraid to eat out in restaurants. We thought it would be unsafe, so we've just been eating at home.

WEAVER: Lu Zhiwei was a regular customer before the SARS outbreak. Now, he says, the disease is changing his eating choices.

LU ZHIWEI, DINER (through translator): Where my habits have changed is I now don't even go into Chinese restaurants, because their kitchens are sealed off, little air circulation. But McDonald's kitchens are open, so I don't worry.

WEAVER: The company was quick to adapt to customers' fears of potential contamination, serving food outside and doing more deliveries, a service that's gone up by 200 percent since the height of the SARS outbreak.

Then, closed for renovation, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) restaurant industry devastated as people simply stopped eating out. Now, with reported SARS cases on a sharp decline, diners are tricking back to all kinds of restaurants.

But the places doing really well are those that offer something different in China, like Grandma's Kitchen, which serves mostly expatriates, but also Chinese diners who like Western foods. The key to success here is the familiar.

SHANNON T. STURM, DINER: Before it was food poisoning. Everyone was concerned about food poisoning...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

STURM: ... or getting hepatitis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

STURM: And now, you know, it's SARS. So, if you're going to the same restaurant...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

STURM: ... you know that they're taking the right measures.

WEAVER (on camera): With customers slowly returning, restaurants of all types are reopening on the premise that even if SARS isn't over yet, people are just tired of eating in.

Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired June 3, 2003 - 05:47   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For diners in China the SARS outbreak put the brakes on regular eating habits, if you can believe it. But now, many are heading back to their favorite spot, as long as they feel safe about the food.
CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver has this story from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wang Li, lining up for a ritual of modern life and a quick dose of convenience at McDonald's. The threat of SARS hasn't stopped her from risking infection. In fact, this is the first time she and her family have eaten out in weeks, and for the first meal out, the very symbol of global fast food domination is what she picked based on the perception that it's more sanitary.

WANG LI, DINER (through translator): Because we have a child, we were afraid to eat out in restaurants. We thought it would be unsafe, so we've just been eating at home.

WEAVER: Lu Zhiwei was a regular customer before the SARS outbreak. Now, he says, the disease is changing his eating choices.

LU ZHIWEI, DINER (through translator): Where my habits have changed is I now don't even go into Chinese restaurants, because their kitchens are sealed off, little air circulation. But McDonald's kitchens are open, so I don't worry.

WEAVER: The company was quick to adapt to customers' fears of potential contamination, serving food outside and doing more deliveries, a service that's gone up by 200 percent since the height of the SARS outbreak.

Then, closed for renovation, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) restaurant industry devastated as people simply stopped eating out. Now, with reported SARS cases on a sharp decline, diners are tricking back to all kinds of restaurants.

But the places doing really well are those that offer something different in China, like Grandma's Kitchen, which serves mostly expatriates, but also Chinese diners who like Western foods. The key to success here is the familiar.

SHANNON T. STURM, DINER: Before it was food poisoning. Everyone was concerned about food poisoning...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

STURM: ... or getting hepatitis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

STURM: And now, you know, it's SARS. So, if you're going to the same restaurant...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

STURM: ... you know that they're taking the right measures.

WEAVER (on camera): With customers slowly returning, restaurants of all types are reopening on the premise that even if SARS isn't over yet, people are just tired of eating in.

Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.