The National Restaurant Association of India has reached out to the commissioner of police in Mumbai to seek clarification on the operations of standalone restaurants and bars after a lockdown was initiated on Sunday.
“Our understanding is that the circular is very specific to shutting down operations within malls… However, we have had several cases where standalone restaurants and bars, who are not a part of any mall are also being asked to shut down by the local police authorities,” the letter addressed to Paramvir Singh, commissioner of police dated 16th March said. ET has a copy of the letter.
Joint Commissioner of Police Vinay Chaube, when contacted by ET, said that the Mumbai police had only shut down pubs and discotheques after receiving complaints on phone and on Twitter that they were ‘crowded with people’. However, when pointed out that even standalone restaurants have been shut by the Mumbai police, Chaube said, ” We will get it checked, we will look into it, our only concern is that there should not be propagation (of the virus) in highly crowded areas as the virus could be spread.” said Chaube.
Bengaluru and Delhi NCR restaurants and pubs are also facing similar threats from local police authorities, according to restaurants that ET spoke to.
While the move will hurt the restaurant industry in terms of dining out footfalls, it will also impact food delivery orders which are being serviced out of these outlets. “We are trying to get permission from the authorities nationally to operate delivery-only service,” said a member of the NRAI committee.
Globally, The City of New York announced that while nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses, and concert venues must all close, restaurants, bars, and cafes the city will be allowed to operate food take-out and delivery.
McDonalds said it is expanding its delivery network both through its owned app and through third-party delivery partners.
With the spread of COVID-19 infections in the country, malls and restaurants have registered a 30-35% decline in restaurant dining with it being sharper in restaurants situated within malls.
Last week, restaurants across the country made a representation to relevant local authorities and mall owners to get an interim relief on rents, energy costs, and overall capital credit limits and taxation given the steep fall in their business.
However, even as more corporates ask employees to work from home, there hasn’t been an immediate increase in online food ordering momentum. A Swiggy spokesperson told ET business is as usual.
Food delivery aggregators, as well as brands that deliver food directly, are taking all the precautions that they can. Many brands have taken initiatives to ramp up hygiene at their kitchens, provide masks and adequate sanitizers to kitchen staff.
Leave a Reply