Eateries wear empty look as discounts fail to attract visitors

Sidharth Talwar, owner and DJ of Cafe Morrison in South Extension-2, spent a lot of money on the renovation and expansion of his popular café, anticipating a rush of foreign tourists during the Commonwealth Games.

Sidharth Talwar, owner and DJ of Cafe Morrison in South Extension-2, spent a lot of money on the renovation and expansion of his popular café, anticipating a rush of foreign tourists during the Commonwealth Games.

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The café has also come up with special packages and discounts for the Games guests. However, his business has decreased in the past one week.

“We were expecting a huge rise in business after the huge success of the opening ceremony, but our business has actually come down by 15%,” Talwar said.

One of the reasons could be the traffic restrictions, which has kept most people confined to their homes, he added.
Like Café Morrison, many restaurants and cafes across the city are all decked up for the Games and are offering special discounts. However, most of them are bearing losses. The fact that they had to remain closed on Saturday and Sunday due to Gandhi Jayanti and Games opening ceremony respectively, also resulted in loss of business.

“Our business has come down in the past few days. I guess it has to do with the fact that a lot of our customers have chosen to go out of Delhi on vacations during the Games,” said Anirudh Singhal, corporate food and beverage manager, Setz, in Vasant Kunj, which was earlier called Zest.

The story is no different at Lodi-The Garden Restaurant on Lodi Road, which has a predominately expat and embassy clientele. “Our business is down by at least 15% despite the fact that we are so close to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. There are a lot of security restrictions in the area,”.said Satish Kumar Prasad, restaurant manager.
He added: “Many of our foreign clients are fearful of a possible terror strike. We hope the business will pick up after the Games are over.”

However, there are a few lucky ones. Although not many Games tourists visited their restaurants, they are witnessing a steady stream of delegates and people working for many foreign companies associated with the Games.

“Many of the Games delegates come here in the evening. We are offering them 20% discounts on all food and beverages. We are screening all the competitions on the big screen in our cafe,” said Pankaj Khandelwal, manager, Café Oz, Khan Market.

The eateries are bracing up for more losses as they have to remain closed again for the upcoming closing ceremony.