JOIN USVeena Stores, 2 MTR outlets shut for now
Alarmed by the rise in coronavirus cases, many restaurants are voluntarily suspending operations. On July 5, Veena Stores in Malleswaram announced it will remain closed till things get better in the city.
Speaking to Metrolife, owner Pradeep says, “We have staff from Chitradurga and Tumkur, among other places, and they had family worrying about their safety working here. There was no peace of mind as all of us are constantly worrying. That’s why I decided to remain closed until things improve.”
Business was nowhere close to where it was earlier. Before Covid-19, Veena Stores was always packed. Famous for its idli, bisi bele bath and coffee, it has suspended all operations including takeaway.
“We are worried that we may be compromising on the safety of our customers and employees,” he says.
Rumours go viral
A WhatsApp forward which listed 60 popular restaurants in the city told people to stay away as they had seen Covid cases. Restaurateurs have reported the forward to the police as the false rumours hit their businesses.
Varun, owner of The Bangalore Cafe in Jayanagar, voluntarily closed his restaurant. “It’s worrisome to see your restaurant’s name in a false forward like that because people tend to believe it. However, that’s not the reason we decided to close. We realised that people are still scared to come and dine in. It’s unsafe for us as well because we can never be too sure,” he says.
With more than 10 outlets in the city, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) has decided to take a break for the time being at two of them located inside malls.
Hemamalini Maiyya, owner, says, “There aren’t too many visitors to the mall where we have outlets, which means we had basically kept the restaurant open for no one. We felt it was best to close them temporarily and return when business picks up.”
Since the reopening of dine-in, MTR had seen only 30 per cent sales. There is more takeaway than dine-in at the eight outlets that remain open. The restaurant has stopped cold drinks and food and only serves hot items.
Few customers
The Bier Library Brewery & Kitchen in Koramangala is open for dine-in only for pizza now.
Owner Srimoyee Geetanand says, “When we opened for dine-in in June, we had already trimmed down the menu. But the footfall was so bad that we decided to serve only pizza now.” She highlights that there were more people coming in when beer takeaways were allowed. “Now when people come in, they expect to have a beer but when we tell them that they can only do a takeaway for the drink and dine-in only for food, it’s a bigger disappointment,” she says.
Online orders seem to be the only saving grace for some restaurants now.