Hospitality blues: Night curfew dampens New Year's cheer for hotels and restaurants
India TodayAs the year draws to an end, many are hoping to step into the New Year with a renewed vigour and enthusiasm. Speaking on how restaurant owners are looking at 2021, AD Singh of the Olive group of restaurants told India Today, "The entire hotel industry was waiting for the lockdown to be over. Atul Bhargava, President Traders’ Association, Connaught Place said, “New Year's is a time for restaurants to make money, they were hit badly by Covid-19 and now these restrictions will be a dampener. The government should have thought about the industry before imposing restrictions, those who flout norms should be punished but not everyone should suffer because of that.” Kinjal Mehta, owner of Hrezzo Restaurant in Mumbai said, “Our restaurant has a sitting capacity of 200 people and we were running at full capacity till last week but as soon as the night curfew was announced, customers stopped coming in. If people enter in the panic mode of Covid again, the restaurant business will suffer more for the coming few months.” While restrictions have been put in place, restaurant owners are now pinning their hopes on the New Year and a vaccine.