10pm closing time rekindles revival hope of Pune restaurateurs

PUNE: Restaurateurs were relieved on Friday after the permission arrived to keep eateries open till 10pm on all days of the week in the Pune civic limits, rekindling their hope for a turnaround.
Ganesh Shetty, president, Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association, said, “The order of staying open till 10 pm on all days is a relief. Many workers of several eateries have gone back home. It will take a week to 10 days for them to get back to work.By the end of the week, about 80% restaurants should start the dine-in service.”
Vedant Shinde, franchise partner, Bhujbal Bandhu Apulki, Kharadi, said, “The increase in timing gives a ray of hope that our business will revive. It will help us re-hire our staffers and allow us serve patrons after the working hours, when they would enjoy stepping out.”
The possibility of night curfew was a concern though about how the eateries’ staffers would commute back home after work.
Raju Mulay, who runs Raju’s Cafe in Wanowrie, said, “We have made provisions for our staffers to stay on our premises so that they don’t have to face any inconveniences while travelling. We are also calling back all the staff members who had gone back to their native places when the dine-in was restricted. As all our staffers are in the age group of 20-35 years, we have been waiting for the availability of vaccination slots for them.”
Sandy Singh, partner at Euriska and Swing on Koregaon Park, said, “We expect the business to be better with the extended time. Our staffers would be quarantined on their return and vaccinated at the earliest. We are in the process of tying up with a hospital to get our staffers vaccinated on our premises if possible.”