Tatarstan’s restaurant industry shows 70 billion rubles in turnover — but soaring costs squeeze businesses

00:00, 10.11.2025

Experts interviewed by Realnoe Vremya agree that growth in the sector is undeniable. However, it is largely driven by an increase in the number of establishments

Tatarstan’s restaurant industry shows 70 billion rubles in turnover — but soaring costs squeeze businesses — Photo: Максим Платонов

Over the first nine months of 2025, catering businesses in Tatarstan earned 70.4 billion roubles, almost reaching the total figures for the whole of 2024. Experts note a paradoxical trend: overall revenue is rising due to the growing number of venues, yet the number of customers is declining, expenses are surging, and the mid-price segment is finding the situation particularly difficult. Read more details in the report by Realnoe Vremya.

Tatarstan’s catering industry earned only 10 billion roubles less in nine months of 2025 than in the whole of 2024

By the end of the third quarter of 2025 (July–September), the turnover of catering establishments in Tatarstan reached 24.9 billion roubles — 6% higher than in the same period last year. Over the first nine months of 2025, turnover exceeded 70.4 billion roubles, almost 13 billion more than the previous year. To match the total turnover of 2024, Tatarstan’s restaurateurs need to earn around another 10 billion roubles.

As for the strongest months, the undisputed leaders were May, August, and September — with turnovers of 8.1, 8.2, and 8.7 billion roubles respectively. Last year, the top months were June (6.5 billion), October (7.3 billion), and December (7.8 billion).

Monthly turnover figures for 2025:

January — 7 billio
February — 7 billion
March — 7.5 billion

Q1 — 21.6 billion

April — 7.9 billion
May — 8.1 billion
June — 7.8 billion

Q2 — 23.8 billion

July — 7.8 billion
August — 8.2 billion
September — 8.7 billion

Q3 — 24.9 billion

Running a catering business has become very costly

Experts interviewed by Realnoe Vremya agree that there is growth in the hospitality sector, but it is largely driven by an increase in the number of establishments. At the same time, all note a decline in the number of visitors.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but our guest flow has fallen by about 10%. Still, our revenue in roubles is higher than last year. Yet in real terms, we have lost money, because this revenue growth didn’t come from success, but from rising costs across the board. It has become very expensive to run a restaurant. Perhaps the growth is due to an influx of people into fast food and the lower segment, though ultra-premium projects are doing well too. The middle segment, as always, is dying,” said Artur Galaychuk, founder of the ReLab Family network (Bar ReLab, Ichy by ReLab, Paloma Cantina, Ichi-go Ichi-e, and Cicheti).

In a conversation with Realnoe Vremya, Kazan restaurateur Nurislam Sharifulin called the current turnover growth a natural result of rising costs for rent, food, and wages. “Rent has increased by about 10–12% on average, and in some places it has doubled. The cost of a labour hour a year ago was 250–300 roubles per hour; now it’s 300–370. Food products were 12–15% cheaper last year. I wouldn’t say that consumption volumes have grown — many, on the contrary, have seen a decline — but this is offset by new venues opening and growing interest in new projects. Overall, the market volume has remained the same,” Sharifulin noted.

“It’s all clear and simple, I think. The number of establishments has grown — more opened than closed over the year. Meanwhile, inflation is far above 5%, probably several times higher. Accordingly, if the number of restaurants has increased but the number of receipts has decreased, there’s a problem. It’s obvious that sales are falling. Given that rent, purchasing costs, and food costs are all rising — if we’re talking about sale prices — this creates serious difficulties,” said Valery Plikhta, co-founder of the Make More Group (bars More, Zero, café Utro, and restaurant Skazki o Solntse).

The catering market in Tatarstan is facing challenging times. Over the summer and in September alone, around two dozen catering establishments in Kazan closed or went up for auction, including several well-known projects. For example, the restaurants U.Love and Uryuk ceased operations, while the Binharts Coffee chain shut down three locations in Kazan, citing low foot traffic in shopping centres.

Dmitry Zaytsev

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