Hyderabad: Food and beverage industry in the city is finally getting some respite in Unlock, as the state government has allowed the opening of hotels and bars. Members of this industry are relieved by the fact that at the least, the businesses are gradually getting back on track.

Bharat Chowdhary, one of the partners of Prism Club and Kitchen told the Times of India, “In the first one week, the response was a bit lukewarm as people were still unsure about the safety measures that will be taken. People are getting used to the new normal and we are getting in a lot more diners. It is a big relief to resume operations after six months.”

Restaurants serving biryani can also see their business revive. In this unlock phase, many people are visiting their favourite biryani joints. Harun Basha of Biryani House says, “We are surprised to see the response in the last couple of weeks.”

“As business activities have resumed, we are happy to see a rise in the number of customers who are coming to dine at our in-house restaurants. It will still take some time for us to de-stigmatise the concept of dining out and for things to return to normal,” said Amar Kasetty, GM at Novotel Hyderabad.

Many people in the city are now opting to take food from the restaurants and eat in their cars, without fearing infection inside the restaurants. Aamir Rasool, owner of an outlet at Jubilee Hills says, “When we had reopened in July, we hardly saw any customers coming in and I was worried that we may have to shut shop. Although we have a dine-in option, most people prefer to order from their cars as they feel it is much safer.” 

Food deliveries are still going strong in the city. Narayana Murthy, manager of Flying Spaghetti says, “Since May, we have been dependent on our online deliveries for our business. People are still worried about coming out to dine because of social distancing etc. but food deliveries continue to come in. By December, things will improve even further.”