Unlock 1: Tough Road Ahead! Restaurants To Re-Open From Tomorrow With New Norms; What Could Be The Possible Challenges?

Announcement about the resumption of the gastronomy sector, undeniably brought some relief to the restaurant owners , whose business had gone cold in the last two months, it however throws open a host of challenges for them- to function under the new norms and regulations.

Jabalpur: Restaurant workers sanitize their crockery ahead of its reopening, during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, at Rasal Chowk in Jabalpur, Saturday, June 6, 2020. (PTI Photo)(PTI06-06-2020_000188B)

New Delhi: Restaurants across the country, except in containment zones, shall resume operations from tomorrow, as per the guidelines under unlock phase 1, issued by the Ministry Of Home Affairs. Though, the thought of slowly crawling back to the lifestyle, we were suddenly barred from, adds a dash of excitement in the otherwise monotonous ‘locked-down life’, but a second thought makes us all apprehensive, especially at a time we are witnessing steep rise in the number of cases around us. The announcement has undeniably brought some relief to the restaurant owners , whose business had gone cold in the last two months, it however throws open a host of challenges for them- to function under the new norms and regulations. Among the several challenges that the restaurants may face, the first and foremost will be the infrastructural modifications required to keep in-line with the new norms, amid already low-slung finances. Restaurants need to ensure that entrance has mandatory hand hygiene (sanitizer dispenser) and thermal screening provisions, and have to preferably maintain separate entry and exits for patrons, staff and goods/supplies. Staggering of customers, will be another challenge. Hotels and restaurants have been asked to ensure proper crowd management in the parking lots and outside the premises duly following social distancing norms. Ensuring social distancing in parking arena, outside or inside restaurants, is a herculean task, for the outlets already short of staff. Working with a curtailed workforce will again pose another difficulty for most of the restaurants in big cities, as several of the staffs have moved to their native places. The guidelines, on the other hand, state that adequate manpower should be deployed by restaurant management for ensuring social-distancing norms. Bengaluru: Workers during preparation work to help in maintain social distancing at a restaurant ahead of its reopening, during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, in Bengaluru, Saturday, June 6, 2020. (PTI Photo) It is quite predictable, that due to night curfew, and the prevalent skepticism, takeaways will be outnumbering dine-in options, and thus a huge delivery force needs to be readied. So the main task will be to get the workforce ready. The night curfew, i.e restrictions after 9 pm, would bind them in a deadline, upsetting the peak-time of the business - which is generally post-evening, after the office hours. The dinner time, which is usually between around 9 pm, used to be a source of massive foot-fall during the full-fledged hours for the restaurants. However, now the hotels will have to rely at lunch hours for most of their business. Also Watch|  Unlock 1: Places of Worship, Malls, and Hotels to open from June 8 but read the guidelines before you go! | ABP Uncut