As footfall picks up, restros inside Metro stations brave new normal
New Delhi: Delhi Metro, the capital's lifeline, is functioning in full swing with passenger inflow witnessing a steady gain as all the 10 corridors chug back to life after a hiatus of over five months in the wake of Covid-19.
However, some of the restaurants located inside stations are struggling to make ends meet as dipping footfall in addition to fear among customers over the pandemic means income hitting a rock bottom.
At the Kashmere Gate Metro Station, one of the largest station interchange hubs, sitting inside his small eatery, Namaste Delhi, Manager Shubham said daily sales has reduced to half of what it was pre-lockdown when his shop used to brim with customers wanting to grab a quick bite while on the way to their destination. "Even the metro authorities have reduced their passenger intake in accordance with strict adherence to safety protocols then how can I expect a sizable crowd to come into my eatery," he said. "I don't expect business to pick up at least for this year as the crowd is nowhere close to what it was''.
Similarly, at Bizzar Bites, another outlet at the station, customers are close to none while takeaway service has been the only mode of business since it reopened on September 12. "We have stopped preparing fresh items like chilli potatoes and noodles while only packaged food like sandwiches and chips are available now," Ravi, one of the employees, said. Floor signs to ensure social distancing dotted the shop where maximum intake of customers has been capped at five at a time. An employee at an eatery, 'Kingdom of Food', said that in order to prevent the food turning stale, he has reduced the items on the menu. "It is becoming hard to pay the rent to metro authorities due to the low transactions," he added,
At Rajiv Chowk station, another buzzing passenger hub, while most of the restaurants, including Wow momo and Keventers, remained shut, some of them did manage to reopen with reduced staff and flailing business. At Burger King, one of the employees said that only two customers are allowed to dine on each table which, she added, has also been reduced to maintain safety precautions. "We opened around two days back keeping in view the resumption of all the lines but the response has been tepid so far," she said. Similarly, at the station's Café Coffee Day, in addition to reduced seating arrangement, passenger inflow has taken a major beating, Hussain, an employee, said.
Meanwhile, at Epicura, a popular food court inside Nehru Place Metro station, most of the eateries have started serving customers, who were being let in after registering recorded their personal details, but food counters remained deserted as the place turned into a pale shadow of itself. "There has been a reduction of around 100% in our daily sales while we have also brought in some food offers in order to ensure a cost-effective purchase for customers," Sunny, manager at the station's Taco Bell, said.
As part of the graded resumption plan of the 389-km network, metro services first reopened on the Yellow Line on September 7 under restricted service hours, following which all the 10 corridors were thrown open to the public with pre-Covid timings from September 12.
