Restaurants go the whole hog as patrons binge

MUMBAI: Never mind Delhi’s winter or Mumbai’s traffic, Indians are feasting this festive season and raising a toast to the last few days of the year. There has been a rush of advance bookings at several restaurants, with seats at some of the eateries totally sold out for Christmas and New Year’s eve. After a somewhat slow start to Dec, brands are hoping to conduct brisk year-end business. “We are sold out (for Christmas) across cities and formats (different store formats across different brands). For Dec 31st too, we are totally sold out everywhere,” said Zorawar Kalra, founder at Massive Restaurants, which owns brands such as Farzi Cafe and Pa Pa Ya. The company has hired additional staff for this period to help with the surge in consumer footfalls, said Kalra. Gauri Devidayal, co-founder and director at Food Matters Group which runs The Table in Mumbai’s Colaba has been flooded with last-minute requests for reservations through the ongoing season. “Business this Dec is definitely doing better than last year,” said Devidayal. Kolkata-based Chowman is expecting double-digit growth this season over last year on the back of higher order values and expansion into more cities. Advance bookings across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru have been strong for the brand. Dine-in reservations started filling up five to seven days in advance, said MD Debaditya Chaudhury.

The festival heavy Oct-Dec period during which discretionary spends go up is usually the busiest season for restaurants. “For Christmas eve, we saw an 18%-20% increase in footfalls compared to last year, driven by guests choosing to step out and celebrate together. Overall, based on the trends we’re seeing, we do expect higher footfalls and stronger business this festive season compared to last year,” said Divya Aggarwal, chief growth officer at Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality which runs Social and Smoke House Deli restaurants. Anurag Katriar, founder and MD at Indigo Hospitality which owns brands such as Indigo Delicatessen said that revenues may see a modest increase over last year given the good advance bookings and decent business on Christmas eve. “We are seeing more business at the stores for sure. Special festive related deliveries for things like Turkey saw a surge,” said Katriar. What has also helped restaurants cash in on late night cravings is the growth of food delivery apps which has given rise to the culture of ordering in. Besides, some restaurants have also built their own in-house delivery fleet. “The festive season has clearly blurred the line-celebration now happens both at table and on the couch. While dine-ins are strong, especially for Christmas eve and Christmas Day, delivery continues to dominate in absolute numbers, driven by house parties and late-night orders,” said Chaudhury. Some companies such as Massive Restaurants, though, see bulk of its sales come from its stores.