Day 6 of Lockdown: Restaurateurs applaud PM's Decision

On 24 March, the government of India under prime minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, limiting movement of the entire population of India as a preventive measure towards the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in India.

Restaurants across globe have felt the heat of the lockdown. Not only this but many restaurants globally are even closing their operations permanently.

According to a report in The Guardian, The nationwide lockdown has already forced the permanent closure of almost all branches of the restaurant chains Carluccio’s and Chiquito in the UK. Other big restaurant groups, pubs and shopping chains have warned that they could collapse if the government extends the self-isolation conditions beyond the initial three-week period.

The situation has not turned out to be that worse in India, but if this continues Indian restaurants may face the corona heat. However, looking at the current scenario and PM’s move on novel corona virus, the industry has come forward in applauding his decision.

Avoid Panic Buying: “We at The Baker's Dozen completely support PM Modi for his bold and proactive steps for our nation. The decision was the call of the hour to control the current situation of COVID-19 and it's increasing pace. Being an essential service that provides customers with their daily bread, we will be operational in a limited manner. We sincerely urge customers to remain at home and will deliver their needs to the best of our abilities,” shared Sneh Jain, Co-Founder and Managing Director - The Baker's Dozen by requesting customers to not hoard or buy in panic as stocks are limited and that prevents everyone from getting their share. We are on our best foot to ensure each customer need is fulfilled as soon as possible. Stay safe, stay healthy.

The Demand will Return: “As far as the hospitality sector is concerned, while we are hurting right now, once things get settled we will definitely see the demand returning to the sector,” added Vipul Hirani - Co-Founder, Crafters who is little apprehensive about finding staff as most of them have returned to their home towns given the uncertainty. “The NRAI has already reached out to the government with regard to helping out the hospitality industry to get through these tough times. I wish that we get through this phase quickly and with the least damage to the health of the nation. At this point in time, nothing is more important than the health of our nation and its speedy recovery,” he further added.  

Social Distancing is the Need of the hour: “We support a move that has been initiated by the Government of India. We all should be in self-isolation and maintain social distancing as much as possible to help the situation to get better. Though the industry is taking a  big hit, we will be a support system to all our employees in this hard time that we all are in,” pointed Subbaraju Penmatsa, Managing Director, Prost Brewpub, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Employee is the Key: "On the business end, everything will be shut. So there will be a complete loss. Two major fixed costs are rentals and salary. On rentals, we are trying to reduce it. On the salary front, we are not firing any of our guys, as we believe to stand with them in this crucial time. But overall we are positive on the front that when the restaurant industry opens up there will be a spike in sales as so many people who are addicted to eating out are waiting to eat out,” said Senil Shah- Founder of New York Burrito Company.

However, the spread of coronavirus has now turned into a disruptive financial contagion globally and it will take time for several businesses to recover and that is only possible with the support of the Government. Hence, we should unite today for a beautiful tomorrow.