Association wants new rules to support small eateries
dez25 T he Macau Association of Fine Cuisine Merchants has advocated supporting the newly submitted “Catering and Related Establishment Business Law” while proposing specific optimizations to ensure the legislation does not place undue burden on small and traditional eateries. The bill, currently under legislative review, aims to streamline licensing through a unified “catering establishment” classification and a new registration system for small venues. Association president Ho Chi Kit identified several technical requirements that could threaten the viability of older, smaller shops. A key concern is a proposed minimum ceiling height of approximately 2.2 meters for installing seating, which would prohibit many ground-floor shops in older buildings from offering dine-in services. The proposed requirement for wider seat-to-seat spacing may force small eateries to reduce capacity. The chamber recommends allowing more flexible seating arrangements, similar to practices in Hong...