Karachi Bakery shuts shop, ex-employee says business was running in losses amid pandemic

The Bandra-based Karachi Bakery, which had been threatened to change its name by the workers of MNS, as it is named after a Pakistani city, has shut down its operations with the owners blaming business losses for their decision.

The bakery, as per its website, was established in 1953. It is a chain of bakeries having its main office in Hyderabad and shops in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

On March 1, MNS leader Haji Saif Shaikh had tweeted claiming that the Karachi bakery in Bandra has shut its operations because of the massive protest carried out by him and his party workers last November.

However, shop manager Rameshwar Waghmare (34), who lost his job after the bakery shut down, said that the move was a business decision taken in view of mounting losses. “The shop was not doing good business over the last two years. For the last one year, the owners wanted to shut the business but carried on thinking it may do well,” he added.

“Due to Covid-19, the business got affected even more. The place where the bakery was located was not attracting many customers. Also, the rent had been increased by the landlord and the bakery owners did not find it feasible to run the business from that particular location. So, they decided to shut the shop finally in January. I lost my job but they told me that they have plans to start the shop somewhere else in Mumbai.”

“Back then, the shopowners had made it clear that they will not change the name of the bakery. They also served MNS a legal notice. Even the Bandra police had visited our shop. But the owners decided not to lodge a police complaint as none of our staffers were physically hurt. We were told not to worry about them again,” said Waghmare.

Incidentally, there is a Karachi sweet shop situated a couple of kilometers away from Karachi Bakery in Bandra (West), operating for over two decades. A shopkeeper there said, “Our shop is doing well and I do not remember any party threatening us to change the shop’s name. I have been working here for over a decade now.”