Vadodara: Malls, restaurants witness thin footfall on first day

VADODARA: It was after nearly two-and-half months that malls and restaurants in the city opened for the customers on Monday. Shoppers were expected to flock the shopping malls on the first day but most Barodians preferred to be cautious and wait for a few days instead making a beeline at their favourite stores.
Most of the malls witnessed a thin crowd throughout the day, though by evening the footfall increased a bit.
“It depended on the stores as there were good number of customers at a groceries retail in our mall while some also visited apparel shops. The crowd was less probably because it was a weekday and awareness is still less among people. We are expecting the footfall to increase soon,” said Shahzad Nizam, general manager, of a city mall.
The usually buzzing gaming zones in many malls were also isolated as they haven’t been opened by the management for safety purpose. “I had to buy apparels for my family at a branded store in a mall but I decided to wait for a few days. I stayed away as I thought there would be sudden rush at malls on the first day,” said Pritesh Shah, a businessman.
Most of the restaurants, especially in western parts of the city, opened by 11 am but there were hardly any customers. “People are already scared to eat outside and then we have to shut down restaurants early. So there won’t be much crowd at the eateries for few days,” said Nitin Nanavaty, restaurateur and president of Vadodara Food Entrepreneurs.
Though people didn’t dine out much on the first day, many eateries were abuzz with orders for takeaway food.
“It is good that the shopping malls finally opened. We can now buy everything from one place. Of course, I wore face mask and ensured social distancing when inside the mall,’’ said Vaishnavi Vyas resident of OP Road.
“People don’t want to sit close to each other and have food. So they are preferring takeaway food,” said owner of an eatery in Alkapuri.
A similar view was echoed by Oniel Daniel, a restaurant owner. “Customers didn’t turn up much at our restaurant on the first day but we got many orders for takeaway food. We are hoping that Barodians will soon start dining out and our business will pick up,’’ added Oniel.