As business suffers, eateries seek more relaxations | Economic Times

About a month after they were allowed to resume dine-in services, restaurateurs say business is still hurting due to continued restrictions on timings and reduced seating capacity, though there is a surge in demand. They are calling for longer operating hours from this month, besides financial support and relief on statutory dues.In Mumbai, where restaurants are allowed to operate only till 4 pm and are to be closed on weekends, 30-40% of them have continued staying shut. “We had made representations to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the municipal commissioner and they had assured us of relaxations this month, but nothing has happened so far. We are planning to meet the chief minister," said Shivanand Shetty, president of the Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association.National Restaurant Association of India president Anurag Katriar said if there is a 50% capacity utilisation rule, there is no need for hourly and weekend restrictions.84389463For Rahul Singh, CEO of the Beer Cafe, things are looking up in Delhi, but he has not been able to open his seven outlets barring the one at the airport in Mumbai, and three in Bengaluru, with the latter ones not allowed to serve draft beer. “The younger, work-from-home arrangement professionals are coming to us. But, the governments should look at stricter financial penalties for those flouting protocols instead of measures such as capping timings till 10 pm,” he said.Restaurants in Delhi are allowed to operate till 10 pm but most are discouraging walk-ins post 9 pm."People are stepping out a lot but we are not entertaining walk-ins after 9 pm as we have to wrap up completely by 10 pm and our staff has to head back on time. The state's new liquor policy allows bars to be operational till 3 am so they should at least extend dining timings now. In markets like Noida, we are losing on business because outlets are not allowed to operate on weekends,” said Cafe Delhi Heights owner Vikrant Batra.Zorawar Kalra, managing director of Massive Restaurants, said demand is heartening and more people are vaccinated now. But, the restrictions on timings are a major concern for the industry. “The timings should be increased because all the stakeholders involved — the government, industry, employees and consumers — will benefit from the increased operating hours. Even from the Covid-19 protocols perspective, extending timings is better because you are able to avoid a large number of people trying to fit into a smaller time slot,” he added. In Bengaluru, restaurants were allowed to resume serving alcohol only last week.“Outlets have been allowed to serve alcohol but there is a vague restriction on not allowing the sale of draft beer. Since most of our outlets have the bar as well as pub licence, we operated through the CL-9 licence (bar and restaurant) rather than the retail vending of beer (RVB) licence,” said Chethan Hegde, founder of the 1522 chain of pubs.