Restaurants in Kolkata seek late closure after night curbs breather – Times of India

KOLKATA: Majority of bars and restaurants in central Kolkata and in leading city malls will apply for a late-closing licence following the night curbs relaxation during Christmas and New Year. Some of them would also hire additional manpower to maintain Covid protocol as they are expecting long queues till late into the night. Bars and restaurants generally experience a 50% jump — and even more — in sales on these days.
The bars and restaurants would open as per normal business hours and closing will be allowed as per excise rules. The excise department charges Rs 10,000 per hour beyond midnight and generally the licence is granted till 2am.
Hotel and Restaurants Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) president Sudesh Poddar pointed out that Bengal — and particularly — Kolkata has a huge Anglo-Indian population. “Allowing restaurants and bars to operate normally is a great relief for the tourists as well as for the hospitality industry. It will help in the revival of the industry. HRAEI thanks the government for its support,” he added.
Speciality Restaurants chairman of Anjan Chatterjee told TOI that he would apply for time extension for the year-end days. He would also hire additional people to manage crowd. “The footfall would be at least 20%-25% more. The state government has taken the right step in relaxing the curbs,” he said. Chapter 2 MD Debaditya Chowdhury added: “The festive season sees people tending to dine out and party late night. And for Chapter 2, where we have a bar as well as live music, we are expecting a huge footfall this time. We shall apply for late closure.”
Peter Cat, Mocambo and Peter Hu! owner Nitin Kosthari will also apply. “We are looking ahead after this order. For many restaurants, these days mean a lot. In some cases, it is more than 100% of normal sales,” he said. Charles Mantosh, owner of Waldorf, Magnolia, will also apply for a time extension. “The sales during this period is 25%-30% more than the normal time. We welcome this move,” he said. Pradip Rozario, owner of KK’s Fusion and Mio Amore, pointed out that it was planning special dishes.
There are 4,000-5,000 bars and restaurants in the city with a combined revenue of Rs 6,000 crore-Rs 7,000 crore annually. The bar and restaurant industry in Kolkata had suffered a loss of Rs 4,000 crore-Rs 4,500 crore since the beginning of the pandemic.