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City’s small eateries, cafes stare at uncertain future
According to the owners of the small eateries in the city, they are facing losses and are struggling to survive
At least 90 food establishments have shut down in the city over the last one month due to financial crisis and labour shortage during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers Association.
Ganesh Shetty, president of the Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers Association says that 40 per cent of the 200 small eateries across the city have been badly affected due to the lockdown. “The major reason is the high rent which adds to their already pressed pockets and with no clarity on when restaurants and pubs can open, the employees, who are currently in their hometowns, do not want to return,” said Shetty.
According to the owners of the small eateries in the city, with 100 per cent dependency on labour and no financial support from the government during these testing times, they are facing losses and are struggling to survive. “We started business in December 2019, but over the past few months, we have been struggling to operate,” said Saili Jahagirdar Mirikar, owner of Zillionth Bistro. The small eatery in Kothrud has been offering only home delivery since March, but Mirikar, is now not sure how long the business will survive.
“It is not just restaurants and delivery agencies, but small and big businesses like raw material supplies, social media agencies, advertising agencies, restaurant software providers, among others who have also massively suffered. No one is even talking about these markets and it is estimated that by the time the food industry is functional again, it is likely to wipe out at least 40 per cent of its own kin. There are at least 500 food establishments in the city currently,” said Shetty.
Dinesh Maheshwari had a flourishing business at a small cafe on the Baner Pashan link road for five years, but since March, Dinesh has been at home as even he has no staff to prepare food even for home delivery.
“I owned a restaurant called Chutney Sauce Murraba and then, ventured into home delivery for a year. But now, I am unsure of how things will work out. In April, everybody was under the impression that things will become normal and following the government’s rules, the landlords did not charge rent. However, now the landlord has asked us to pay in instalments,” said Dinesh.
Dinesh’s employees went home when the lockdown was first announced in March. “My kitchen has been closed since March 21. We did not get enough home delivery orders to cover the cost, the input cost of meats, vegetables are going up, and members of the staff who are still here, want to return home,” added the former chartered accountant who joined the food business because of his passion for cooking.
The next two months are crucial for the restaurants, feel most of the owners. “If the restaurants and cafes open, their business will depend on the number of people visiting them and the staff who can return to work. I think only those restaurants/cafes with strong financial backing can survive as even the aggregators have stopped putting their money in the market,” Shetty added.
Shetty says that the only scope for the standalone eateries currently is home delivery and the hope that customers will walk into the restaurant after they are open.
“Most of the owners are unsure about getting their business on track after the situation normalises. If landlords can look at profit-sharing when the eateries open, then, it can help sustain the business, but otherwise, there is nothing optimistic about this business,” said Shetty, though he added that home delivery should help sustain the restaurant and keep it afloat.
Harsh Wagh, a food consultant, had helped start nine restaurants in the city and now, three have shut their business. “Currently, a lot of eateries/ cafes are on sale or shutting down as they have not been able to sustain the financial crisis and the future doesn’t look too promising. But that doesn’t mean that the restaurant business will stop completely. No one can live without food and chain restaurants with solid backing will continue to stay afloat,” said Wagh.
