Indians give eateries cold shoulder amid head-spinning heat
heatwave and extreme weather conditions in most parts of the country have taken a toll on restaurants, pubs and bars across Indian cities, with outlets reporting an up to 40% dip in sales and footfalls.
Businesses that thrive on al fresco, or open-air dining, and those present in high street locations are among the worst hit, industry insiders said. The impact is most visible during the lunch hours when the usual hustle and bustle have given way to mostly empty tables.
The lunch business is “almost next to nil”, said Priyank Sukhija, chief executive of First Fiddle Restaurants that operates outlets of brands such as Lord of the Drinks, Miso Sexy, Diablo, Tamasha and The Flying Saucer Café.
The national capital, where temperature arguably crossed 50 degrees Celsius for the first time on Wednesday, is among the worst hit with high street locations such as Khan Market, Connaught Place and Defence Colony seeing a significant fall in footfalls, according to Sandeep Anand Goyle, who heads the Delhi chapter of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).
“The heatwave has massively hit sales till about 6 pm for some restaurants. People don’t want to venture out and prefer going to the malls. But we heard of mall air-conditioning also falling apart in some instances… so that is another worry,” he said.
“People prefer taking holidays in such weather conditions, so that has also contributed to the dip in footfalls, which would be in the range of 25-30%,” added Goyle who is also a director at Essex Farms, which
