Catering industry re-invents for pandemic times; many launch takeaway outlets

MANGALURU: While the hotel industry is re-inventing hospitality to survive the Covid-19 pandemic, caterers have opted for new business models. With big fat weddings moving to Zoom, Google Meet, and other virtual platforms, gone are expensive hotel bookings and catering services.
Most caterers had several events booked on their calendars and as soon as the lockdown was announced, everyone started panicking and the customers were worried if they would receive the refunds. “During the pre-covid days, even an ordinary simple wedding ceremony would mean booking the caterer for a minimum of at least three days. The pandemic has left the restaurants and hotel industry bleeding and now, it is good to see that many caterers are making a comeback by launching takeaway outlets and offering home delivery service. Many were forced to reduce staff or cut salaries, said Umesh, a caterer from Puttur.
Kamath Caterers launched Kamath’s Food Express on Friday. “I had been planning to launch a food counter for the past 10-12 years, but did not have the time to go ahead with it. There has been a demand from the public to launch a counter, and the menu is shared on Whatsapp. We have not tied up with any food aggregator and will put in place our delivery system. Currently, we have launched only a lunch service that will soon be followed by breakfast and evening snacks. There is a demand for non-veg food too that we plan to introduce gradually,” said Sudhakar Kamath of Kamath Caterers
Kamath feels elaborate functions are not going to be back soon. “Many customers who initially postponed events such as weddings are now calling us to say that the event will be restricted to 50 people and their children are happy if their friends are around.”
Shree Mangala Caterers launched Party Food, a takeaway counter in Jeppu, recently. “It is a matter of survival. We have cooks and other staff to be taken care of. However, the business is picking up slowly. We also offer home delivery,” said Jeevan of Party Food.