Unlock 1.0: Trouble cooking in Chennai eateries?

CHENNAI: Planning to dine out during unlock 1.0? You may have to wait a little longer to savour your favourite dishes. Thanks to the mass exodus of workers, most of them natives of northern States, restaurants in the city are struggling to reopen even as the government has relaxed restrictions.

Restaurant owner A Rajendran in Santhome is a worried man. “We had 13 workers from Assam and Meghalaya, besides five local employees. I tried to convince them not to go home but I didn’t have the money to hold them back. We tried cooking just for home deliveries and parcels but ended up making losses. Now that things are coming back to normalcy, we don’t have enough people to work,” he said.  

The G.O. on lockdown relaxations has stated that restaurants may allow customers to dine in their premises from June 8, by following hygiene and social distancing norms. However, several eateries, which are heavily dependent on migrant workers, are now left scrambling to gather their workforce.

Eateries in the city-owned by people from neighbouring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are equally hit as their cooks, including those from Tamil Nadu, have gone home. “We are trying to get e-passes for our main cook and some others to restart business,” said Nithin Praveen, who runs a restaurant serving Kerala food in Adyar.

No local flavour

Meanwhile, some attempts to employ locals failed to take off due to high labour costs. “We thought of hiring locals at least until normalcy returns. We had to abandon the move as they demanded higher wages. Some of them even demanded permanent job,” said G Kanagavel Raja in Egmore, adding that his North Indian workers have promised to return once transport facilities restart.  

Kanagavel said local workers were demanding Rs 700 to Rs 1,000 per day against the migrant workers’ pay of Rs 300-Rs 800. As business prospects remain uncertain, eatery owners like Kanagavel are apprehensive about taking the risk.

Some restaurants, however, are ready to restart normally as their workers didn’t go. “I convinced them that returning home now may not be a wise move. I also paid them during the lockdown. We have been delivering food as parcels and through food aggregators, and now we are prepared to welcome diners,” said T Srinivasan Rao, who runs a restaurant in Royapettah.

Salons flooded

After a gap of almost 60 days, salons and spas in the city reopened to a flood of customers on Monday. Hairdressers used hand sanitiser, wore masks and gloves and sprayed disinfectants before customers entered the shop. The customers too had to sanitise their hands. Many had to return home as the salons were packed.