Kindergarten thrives in barbecue business

A private kindergarten in Baoding, Hebei province, was transformed into a barbecue restaurant recently to help provide some income for teachers after the school was closed for almost five months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

School authorities said the suspension affected normal income and they were hoping the temporary barbecue business would help relieve the pressure, Beijing News reported.

"The aim is to help teachers get a temporary job and have a stable income during the school suspension," Hei Xiaojuan, head of Angel Babies Kindergarten in Baoding, said in a video produced by Orient Today, a news organization based in Henan province.

Tables for catering customers were set up in the kindergarten's schoolyard where students used to play, the report said. The tables are named for classes.

The teachers now work as food servers, and the restaurant hired a chef and bought some equipment for barbecuing. The business is going well, the report said.

According to the Hebei Education Department, kindergartens with prevention and control measures in place can resume classes on June 8, but kindergartners should go back to school on their own free will.

Several kindergartens in other regions have made similar moves, including one in Jinan, Shandong province, according to a WeChat article by People's Daily.

Barbecue is popular in summer, and kindergartens have an advantage in doing business. For example, they have space on their playgrounds, permits for food and beverage service and employees with health certificates, all of which are needed for running a kindergarten, the article said.

Another kindergarten, in Lijiang, Yunnan province, started making and selling baozi — steamed stuffed buns — recently to pay the salaries of its more than 70 employees.