Pune: At last, eateries register improvement in business

PUNE: After suffering heavy losses last year, the food and beverages (F&B) industry seems to have come back on track partially as customers are queuing up and waiting for tables, particularly on weekends.
At the recently opened bar in Balewadi #LIIT, there has been a peak in customer numbers since the end of December. “Mainly we see young and middle-aged patrons.Weekends usually witness rush hours between 8-11pm, with 20-30-minute wait time,” said owner Siddharth Kalokhe.
“Most of our patrons pre-book tables. Also, since we have a huge property, the usual wait time does not cross 15 minutes for walk-in customers,” said Raaj Paree, chief executive officer of The Cult House/Terra at Magarpatta.
The bustle extends to bistros and cafés as well. Harsh Agarwal, managing partner at Butterbrews in Model Colony, said, “Working professionals and students are returning. We are getting good footfall in the evenings and weekends. Customers might experience some wait time for 5-10 minutes.”
The footfall at restaurants is heavily dependent on the demographics of the neighbourhood. “Sassy Spoon, in Koregaon Park, has seen brisk business almost daily with wait time averaging around 20-30 minutes on weekends. However, Baraza in Yerawada, operates at half the permissible capacity due to absence of corporate footfall,” said Ashish Kindre, head of operations of the city restaurants.