Darshinis prepare for dine-in

The eateries are a big draw for their affordable fare. How will they manage their crowds?

Bengaluru has 700 to 800 Darshini eateries, many known for quick service, hygiene and affordability. A few were giving takeaways during the lockdown, and are now getting ready to open their doors to dine-in customers.

Business loss

Most darshini owners Metrolife spoke to said they had just 10 to 20 per cent of their regular business during the lockdown.

“But we can’t just not work. We have mouths to feed,” says P Suresh Shetty, owner of New Udupi Park, Richmond Circle. “We have 2,600 sq ft space. Of 50 employees, only 15 come now and we maintain social distancing as we have a big hall to work in. There are only three people in the kitchen at a time,” he says. He is ensuring that everyone is wearing masks and gloves.

Chandrakanth Pujari of New Krishna Sagar in CV Raman Nagar tells Metrolife, “We get only 20 per cent business and we are only allowing takeaway services.” The hotel is open from 7 am to 7 pm every day. From 20 employees, only eight are coming in to work now.

Pujari says, “We know people are sceptical but we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety. Our building owners have given us a concession on the rent, but we don’t know how long this will go on.”

Lower price

RK Dosa Camp in Shantinagar serves dosas and rice items. Thirunavukarasu, who runs the place, has reduced the price for a dosa from Rs 30 to Rs 20 so that people come back. “We are open every day from 6.30 am to 7 pm and we get customers, but we also understand everyone is struggling so we reduced our prices,” he says. Since suppliers aren’t delivering, he goes to Chamarajpet to get ingredients.

Safety first

Keeping everything clean and sanitised in a darshini is tough because of the sheer numbers.

At Sri Devi Cafe in Cox Town, a three-metre distance is maintained between the person who packs the food and the customer. They have also removed all the chairs and not more than four people can stand around a table at a time. Karthik Shetty, co-owner, says, “We have assigned two more boys at the parcel counter so that the packing is done quickly. This will also reduce the customers’ wait time.”

Karthik and team took advantage of the 40-day lockdown and cleaned their entire storage area. “Every day when we get milk, we first wash it outside before bringing it in. We’ve placed a barricade for vendors to minimise contact,” he explains.

Allow dine-in

Karthik Shetty of Sri Devi Cafe, Cox Town, says, dine-in should be allowed with necessary precautions. “There are many street vendors and marketing professionals who frequent our hotel, and it’s not possible for them to travel home with the food parcels every time they have to eat,” he says.

Cash transaction

Darshini transacts mostly in cash. While some encourage
digital methods, cash works best for small amounts, say business owners.

Those manning the counters are wearing gloves and sanitising their hands after
every couple of transactions.

Fast food chains

International fast-food chains KFC and Taco Bell are planning a series of safety measures.

Moksh Chopra, chief marketing officer of KFC India, says, “We have floor stickers to help delivery riders maintain safe distance as they wait to collect orders. For sanitisation, all surfaces are cleaned every 30 minutes.”

KFC has moved to a contactless delivery approach where there’s no contact between the delivery executive and the customer, with digital payments as a recommended practice. The food is also in tamper-proof sealed bags.”

At Taco Bell, seating arrangements are being altered to ensure distancing.

“The food parcels will have double packing with each item being wrapped in individual packets, followed by an outer bag to ensure contactless transit,” explains Mandeep Singh Sethi, vice president-operations.

Guidelines to follow

Madhukar Shetty, general secretary of Karnataka Pradesh Hotel & Restaurants Association, is offering some guidelines.

• Sanitise the kitchen and outside every hour. Tables have to be cleaned regularly with soap solution.
• Staff must always wear masks and gloves.
• At the parcel counter, add an extra table or bench to maintain distance.
• During peak hours, assign staff for crowd control.
• Quarantine the cash, if possible.
• Sanitise raw materials before using. Many darshinis are considering machines to clean material.
• Serve water hot and at room temperature, not chilled.
• Consider your own delivery to save on food delivery commissions.
• Customers can bring their own vessels to pack the food in which the hoteliers will wash before adding content in it.