KOLKATA: The extension of closing of time for restaurants and bars from 8pm to 10.30pm from Monday will help to revive the food and beverage (F&B) industry in the state that had been struggling to survive with dwindling footfalls and mounting losses. The hotel and restaurant industry employs over 80 lakh people in the state and over 9 lakh in Kolkata.
Leading restaurants and bars are gearing up for a big week since the outbreak of the second wave and hope for a 30%-40% jump in sales following this extension, which now includes the peak dining hours. For most of them, dinner sales constitute almost 50%-60% of the total business. The off-shops, too, are optimistic that the new timing will boost their sales.
Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India president Sudesh Poddar pointed out that the restaurants were missing the dinner crowd . “From 7.30pm to 10.30pm is the prime time for dinner and we shall now be on the revival path. So far, we were losing the dinner crowd,” he said. According to him, a mere 35% of sales is generated by lunch.
Speciality Restaurants chairman Anjan Chatterjee added: “We were losing more than 50% of our business because of the restricted timing. For fine-dining restaurants, dinner often contributes 75% of our total business.”
Park Street restaurants, too, believe the dinner crowd will be back. Mocambo and Peter Cat owner Nitin Kothari expects the next weekend to be a big one. “At both of our restaurants, customers are enquiring about the change. We hope there will be a 35%-40% jump in business,” he added. Moulin Rouge, Waldorf and Floriana owner Charles Mantosh agreed. “Dinner in Kolkata starts from 8pm, so we were missing the diners,” he said.
Chillies owner Rishi Bajoria pointed out that so far restaurants and bars were merely recovering the cost. “The extended timing would help us to earn something,” he added. The owner of KK’s Fusion and Mio Amore Pradip Rozario was happy that finally he will be able to recover some losses. Aminia director Kabir Azhar and Chowman director Debaditya Chowdhury felt that this will be a big boost to dining.
