Empty chairs, dishes lined up neatly, unoccupied staff, and hushed kitchens have taken over the once clattering and chattering restaurants, cafes, and roadside stalls of Vadodara.
The food industry has taken a massive hit owing to the pandemic. While some food joints have closed down, others are struggling to keep their shutters open. Dine-in places like Pepperazzi in Vadodara, as per Jigar Desai, the owner, have decided to temporarily close and wait for the infection rate to go down and the economy to sustain itself before re-opening. The rising threat of COVID and a justified sense of panic amongst the citizens has led to a steep downfall in the food business.
Bhavik Kotak, the owner of Secret Kitchen, a fine-dine restaurant, believes that the fine-dine business has taken the steepest plunge. With hardly an occupancy of 5-6 tables in an entire day, he said, “Fine-dine restaurants have, essentially, always been popular for their dine-in experiences. The delivery model for our restaurants had never kicked off. With meagre sales from delivery and an absence of in-house customers, the business is being strained to the farthest limit.”
Not only owners but the workers have also had to face the brunt of the pandemic. Cafe Appetito that has seven outlets in Vadodara have reduced their sale by approximately 60%. The owner, Mit Patel, said, “We had to cut down the staff from 5-6 people to two people at every outlet due to government regulations.” He added that most of their sales used to come in the time frame of 8 PM to 11:30 PM, but with the curfew at 8 PM, they have lost a majority of their customers.
The ever-bustling Sailesh Puffs at Alkapuri now draws a sorry picture. With only one or two customers at the counter due to reliance on students from coaching classes, he said, “Our business has gone down to 25%. The closure of coaching classes means no business from the hundreds of students.” Even after struggling to make ends meet, Saileshbhai kept up his usual smile, jokingly asked for 20,000 rupees from a customer for one puff, and said, “Now, 20,000 rupees for one puff is the only way in which we can continue to sustain the business.”
One aspect of the pandemic has been the devastating effects of the crumbling healthcare infrastructure. The other overlooked aspect, however, has been the economic impact of the pandemic. The demand drops, owners run out of business, workers are let off, and everyone’s pockets get hurt. Such a domino effect has hurt numerous sectors, with one such sector being the food industry.
