At first sight, roadside service seems a very tempting commercial idea, but on closer examination you understand that it is very hard business
‘The best coffee is sold on the road’. We were assured of this by one of the gasoline stations near Minsk. The well-known Italian coffee, Lavazza, is not uncommon in roadside cafes and snack bars, but clients at this gasoline station are offered the most refined grades of coffee. The drink certainly lived up to its reputation.
The Valentina roadside service station in the Ivatsevichi District
The interdepartmental working group of representatives of the Ministry for Transport, Ministry for Trade and other departments, were performing inspections on highway М-6 in ‘takeoff-landing’ mode. We travel several kilometres and slow down near the next gasoline station, cafe or motel. There are a lot of them on the highway between Minsk and Grodno.
Another gasoline station is located near the city, directly near the ring road. There are a lot of clients all day and night. As for the selling of fuel, it stably takes second place in the city. Good sales are observed in the round-the-clock shop. There is also a drive-through snack bar, where one can order a hot dog, a pancake with stuffing or other fast food, without leaving the car. However, this ‘nutritious’ service is only available during the daytime. “We tried to work at night, but we had very few clients,” the head of the gasoline station, Gennady Zhinko, explains.
However, this gasoline station is a lucky one. Its geographical position of the roadside business plays a key role. For several dozen kilometres from the capital, the quantity of clients in gasoline stations decreases considerably. Accordingly, financial turnover from the retail side and from selling fuel and other goods also decreases.
Out-of-town inn Budzma opened in the Gomel Region
The co-owner and director of the Belarusian-Bavarian enterprise Orientir-International, Grigory Boldyusov asserts that the profitability of roadside cafes is very modest. “In a city, people go to a restaurant to have fun and spend money, while during travel, the majority of people approach this question in a utilitarian manner and try to save,” he says, sharing his 20 years of experience in the management of the Park cafй located close to a road fork that leads to Grodno and Vilnius. “We have to compete on price not only with our colleagues on the М-6, but actually with Lithuanians and Poles. On the European highways there exists a standard: A full dinner consisting of salad, first and second course and dessert should cost 5 Euros and it should be prepared in around 10-15 minutes. So it is necessary to be guided by these parameters. Nevertheless, the menu in Park is very varied. We have dozens of dishes from simple and cheap to expensive and interesting.” Although Mr. Boldyusov admits that the large choice is more of a tradition than a requirement. Travellers do not usually study the menu for a long time. Their purpose is to eat quickly, tastefully and cheaply. Therefore, Park now tries to be guided by more standard dishes.
Business beside the road, at least business of the culinary kind, is rather unpredictable. For example, when there are traffic jams on the border, as Mr. Boldyusov confirms, the amount of customers decreases immediately. Truck drivers are the main consumers of dinners and suppers, but these vehicles pass by the cafes, without slowing down because they will have to spend long hours at the border crossing.
But despite these problems, the roadside service is always ready and willing to welcome hungry travellers.
