More than a year after announcing closure in June 2019, the famous South India Coffee House at Panjab University’s Student Centre was auctioned on Wednesday for ₹1,03,000 per month for a period of five years.
Seven more shops of PU were auctioned for a period of five years. The base price for the auction of the coffee house was ₹50,000. No bid was received for a chemist-cum-instruments shop at PU’s dental college in south campus, which was also to be auctioned on Wednesday.
The coffee house, which was opened in 1975, had announced its closure last year due to a decrease in footfall and consequent losses. The number of employees, too, had gone down from six to three.
The cafeteria was a prominent space for students and academicians to eat, socialise and discuss for several years. After its closure, the PU administration had asked the University Institute of Hotel and Tourism management (UIHTM) to run a cafeteria or bakery in the space, but they had declined the offer and the space remained closed for more than a year.
In November last year, a committee that had finalised the conditions for renting out the South India Coffee House had also proposed that the cafe should become a multi-cuisine restaurant with a new menu of at least 20 new food items in addition to the South Indian food items that were served at the iconic cafe.
{{/usCountry}}In November last year, a committee that had finalised the conditions for renting out the South India Coffee House had also proposed that the cafe should become a multi-cuisine restaurant with a new menu of at least 20 new food items in addition to the South Indian food items that were served at the iconic cafe.
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