“The crowd that mostly visits us are youngsters. Families don’t come by anymore. Many people also phone ahead to confirm if we are open, and our safety measures as well. Our restaurant is open-air, and while we had initially designed it so to give people working indoor a breath of fresh air, it is now coming in very handy during the pandemic,” said Rishi Rangaswamy, owner of New Desi Tadka.

While walk-ins continue during the unlock, business is at 40-60% of their pre-COVID numbers, say restaurateurs. Delivery, which was a key mode of sales during the initial phases of the shutdown, has now become supplementary to the dine-in numbers, with some quoting dine-in to delivery sales at 60-40, and others at 90-10.

Food sales are either lower or just average, with many sales being focused on beverages. Interestingly, demand for cold beverages have dropped, but not due to the cool weather. According to the owners, patrons fear catching a cold and worrying about the cause of the sore throat, and therefore have shifted to hot drinks.

While the sale numbers are looking optimistic, labour continues to be an issue for some restaurateurs. “Many of our staff members are from the north, and they went home during the initial days of the pandemic. Additionally, with the festive season around the corner, many do not want to return until the end of the year,” said Joseph Paul, founder and co-owner of Master Oru Tea.

Stock and supply issues persist despite the unlock, they say. With certain ingredients being difficult to source or expensive to buy at this time, stock issues also persist due to lower sales, which has led to many reorganising their menus and looking for locally-grown alternatives.

However, maintaining customer engagement remains at the forefront of many restaurant owner’s minds, as regular customers are more important now more than ever. To this effect, some restaurateurs, like Manoj Chandak, owner of Coffee Tales, have come up with a reward scheme.

“We have two to three groups of people who come daily. To thank them for their help and support, we have a 325 ml mug with their face on it at the store, which we serve their drinks in when they come. They are charged only for the 275 ml amount. It is to show how thankful we are to them for continuing to support us even through these difficult times,” he said.