The food and beverage industry and local restaurant businesses have been severely impacted amidst the nationwide shutdown to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. To help them navigate through this turmoil, Dineout, India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform, has initiated an online petition, Relief For Restaurants to support NRAI (the National Restaurant Association of India) on change.org, requesting the finance ministry and the Government of India to help restaurants with employee unemployment pay cover, moratorium on upcoming statutory dues, delay in utility bill payments, holiday/temporary stoppage on EMI (equated monthly installment) payments and interest, freezing rental dues and restoration of input tax credit on GST (Goods and Services Tax) for all restaurants.
The petition has received widespread acknowledgment and has been signed by over 17,000 people and endorsed by some of the country’s biggest restaurateurs and food and beverage entrepreneurs like Olive Bar and Kitchen founder A D Singh; Biryani Blues founder Raymond Andrews; Massive Restaurants founder, Zorawar Kalra; Gurupreet Singh Bali, owner, Gillys; Megha Kohli, Times Chef of the Year 2020; Vicky Ratnani, gourmand, connoisseur and celebrity chef; Sleepy Owl Coffee co-founder Arman Sood and FIO Restaurant co-founders Vineet and Vanshika Wadhwa, among others.
Ankit Mehrotra, co-founder and chief executive officer, Dineout, said, “The Indian food service industry is one our country’s largest industries in the service sector after retail and insurance that feeds not only seven million-plus households, but it also supports multiple allied industries such as real estate, food processing, consulting and many more.”
“Dining in contributes more than 92 per cent to the overall margins for these small businesses, and the ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns and zero footfalls have led to huge monetary gaps that they are reeling under. We are heartened by the widespread support to our effort to draw attention to the struggles of this sector,” he added.
Singh stated, “The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak is an uncharted territory for most restaurants across India, and no one knows how long this is likely to continue. While some of us are lucky to be working from home and support our families, unfortunately, our industry does not have that option.”
“Given most local restaurants work on wafer-thin margins owing to ever-surging fixed costs, these are also among the most vulnerable to such sustained shutdowns. We are grateful to see brands like Dineout step up and work proactively to help the local businesses during times of such crisis,” he added.