A Matter of Sustenance

The restaurant industry has employed a host of coping mechanisms in the face of the pandemic’s relentless assault. How effective is the delivery model and why should you order directly from restaurants? RIAAN JACOB GEORGE scouts for answers.

- RIAAN JACOB GEORGE

AS THE SECOND WAVE of the pandemic batters Indian businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry, restaurateurs and chefs have had to bear the biggest losses. “We’ve worked very hard in the last few months to regain consumer trust for dining-in. Things were finally looking up when night curfews and lockdowns were imposed again,” says Riyaaz Amlani, CEO and MD, Impresario Handmade Restaurants (impresario. in). “While we understand that various state governments have imposed them keeping in mind public safety, this will probably be the final nail in the coffin for the F&B industry.” Amlani, who recently made news for partnering with Mumbai’s iconic dabbawalas for deliveries, is highlighting an existential challenge that almost all industry stakeholders are facing right now.

DELIVERIES TO THE RESCUE

The most obvious, and at times, the only route to survival has been to focus on the delivery model. A case in point is Mumbai’s Bastian, a seafood speciality restaurant with a high-end dine-in clientele. “We were initially quite lost and searching for solutions. We quickly installed a delivery model into set processes, revisited costs to suit material availability, and estimated the willingness of the customer to spend,” shares founder Ranjit Bindra.