Restaurants reopen with a mouthful of caution, footfall low at Delhi malls

Shopkeepers at malls said that while the crowd was good for the first day of reopening, it might take some time for business to bounce back.

Several people stepped out cautiously for outings at malls and restaurants across the city as dine-in services reopened after nearly two months on Monday.

A waiter serves food to the customers at a restaurant after the state government allows the reopening of restaurants with 50% capacity, at Connaught Place in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI Photo)

As part of the unlock process, all shops in malls were allowed to run from 10 am to 8 pm from Monday. Restaurants too were also allowed to open their doors for dine-in patrons, restricted to 50% seating capacity to ensure physical distancing, while salons and barber shops also catered to customers from Monday.

While eateries at some of the popular malls in Saket and Vasant Kunj saw people eating out, footfall at other places remained thin. A mall located at Andrews Ganj wore a largely deserted look with only a handful of people visiting the premises for shopping.

Among the visitors at a Saket mall were Pulkit Sehgal (31), a businessman, who had stepped out with his wife and toddler “for lunch after a long time”. “I decided to step out for an outing since malls are reopening fully for the first time. This also happens to be the first mall outing with my 19-month-old child,” said Sehgal. “We have started going out since we recovered from Covid a few months ago. We are banking on antibodies and have also received the first dose of the vaccine,” said Sehgal.

Unnati Joshi (28), another visitor, said that she had came to the mall for a “long-pending lunch outing with family”. “After months of staying inside, we felt the need to get a breather. We are following the SOPs and Covid-appropriate behaviour,” said Joshi.

Ajay Upadhyaya, the manager of Sattvik restaurant, Saket, said the restaurant had seen a good crowd on Monday. “We saw a good response. Until last week, we were offering only takeaway services. It’s good to see people back. If the government expands the timings, our business will bounce back to normal within a month,” said Upadhyaya.

Sandeep Tanwar, general manager-operations at Andrea’s Eatery in Saket, said that the restaurant had seen nearly 50% occupancy on Monday, adding that he expected it to increase with the gradual reopening. “I think a slow and steady approach to reopening will work. We need to prioritise safety as well,” said Tanwar.

Besides restaurants, there were many others who stepped out for retail therapy. Megha Kapoor (51), a visitor at Select Citywalk in Saket, said that she had come to buy essentials. “Compared to pre-lockdown months, the malls are largely deserted. I have been going out only to buying important things, not for pleasure or recreation. It’s too early to do it that,” said Kapoor.

Shopkeepers at malls said that while the crowd was good for the first day of reopening, it might take some time for business to bounce back.

“While people have started returning slowly, the footfall isn’t significant and it might take a while for it to return to normal. We can only wait and watch as there is uncertainty. Last time, we were hoping for business to bounce back but before that could happen, lockdown was imposed again,” said a vendor of a gadget kiosk at a South Delhi mall, who did not wish to be named.

Gajendra, the manager of a food kiosk in a Saket mall, said that a majority of business was taking place through online orders now as “people are still stepping out cautiously“.

Not all restaurants across the city reopened on Monday as they were making changes to adhere to new guidelines.

SN Kaushal, senior manager of Kwality restaurant at Connaught Place, said that the restaurant had been shut for the past two months and would reopen in two-three days. “We are undertaking cleaning and sanitisation until then, besides ensuring that our staff members get vaccinated before they come back,” said Kaushal.