News | NRAI in Maha seeks relaxation in operating hours for industry to survive

With present guidelines shutting restaurants at 4 pm and not allowing them to open on weekends, restaurateurs say they have been reduced to mere lunch canteens making it impossible to survive.

National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has requested Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to consider relaxing restaurant operation hours in the wake of a constant decrease in Covid-19 numbers in the state.

Restaurateur and NRAI president, Anurag Katriar took to social media to request a positive roadmap for reopening of the beleaguered food and beverage sector of the state and termed present restrictions in Mumbai and across the state of Maharashtra as among the strictest across the country.

"It is absolutely imperative for our survival that these restrictions are relaxed. 50 percent capacity utilization is fine but restricted hours don't make much sense," Katriar had posted.

Present guidelines state shutting of restaurants at 4 pm and do not allow them to open on weekends.

Restaurateurs say they have been reduced to mere lunch canteens making it impossible for them to survive.

A restaurateur said the majority of sales used to happen during dinner hours. He said reopening for mere 4 hours a day does not make business sense for most and as a result majority of outlets are closed.

Reacting to Katriar's post, Vibhu Sharma, an F&B professional said longer operational hours would mean more people can dine through the day and be at safe distance all the time.

Some restaurateurs lamented there seem to be no restrictions on crowded local markets while restaurants that ensured social distance and hygiene protocols were being deprived of business.

With the state government expected to announce new guidelines this week, Katriar hoped restaurant timings will be relaxed while the majority of restaurateurs requested they should be allowed to stay open till at least 11 pm.

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Covid NEWS | NRAI plan vaccination drive for its members across India

The President of NRAI also announced a soon-to-be-launched vaccination drive the body was planning for its member restaurants in major cities across India.

NRAI has created a corpus in tandem with certain liquor companies, and we will be launching our own vaccination drives in all major cities. We are naming it after two of our deceased management committee members— Santosh Jindal and Vyoum Ghai— and calling it Santosh and Vyoum Vaccination Drive,” said Anurag Katriar, President of the restaurant body NRAI, while speaking to ETHospitalityWorld exclusively.

He added that the drive would kick start as soon as all the necessary data had been collated, adding that the NRAI would pay commercial rates for the vaccines, if necessary, paid to member restaurants to get their employees vaccinated.

On the subject of vaccinating those working in the restaurant industry—especially those traveling back from their homes to the cities, Katriar said that NRAI had written to state governments asking that these workers be treated as frontline staff and be allowed deferential vaccination.

Vaccination was crucial with the lockdowns being slowly eased and Katriar was very happy with the measures in general.

“What had become purely a restaurant turning into a delivery kitchen is at least going to be a restaurant again. I think we can only build from here—the hours will improve and so will the capacity utilisation. So, overall, it's good to be back in business. And we'll wait for the better days to come,” he said.

“These limited hours opening will not have any major impact on sales—whether it is Mumbai, which is operating up to 4pm, or Bengal, which is operating only 5 pm to 8 pm. But, in a way, I'm not very unhappy, at least when it comes to Maharashtra, because there is now some sound logic on which the restaurant openings have been based. These are twin factors of test positivity rate and availability of oxygen. I believe that when the report is released this Thursday, the levels will change in Mumbai, and things will startup,” he said.

As far as advice that the NRAI is giving its members, in fact, restaurant businesses across India. “We are basically suggesting two things, one, when you are operating within the suggested limits, we should not become a contributor to the rise in cases. The second piece of advice I'm offering to every restaurateur is to please build up some resources, while things are opening up, if possible. We have got some support on liquidity from the government, at least the RBI has said that INR 15,000 crores have been kept aside for hospitality,” he said adding that he hoped that banks would follow the advice of the RBI in letter and spirit and it should not become a thing on the paper where financing is located, but the disbursement does not happen.

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NRAI issues statement in support of Delhi Excise policy change

The national restaurant body also listed some additional suggestions it wanted to be made on further changes, which it felt would be beneficial for the sector.

The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) cheered on the Delhi Government’s move to make changes to the excise policy which was notified on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

In a statement used by the restaurant body, it said—NRAI warmly welcomes and supports the path-breaking reforms made by the Delhi Govt in the new Excise Policy notified earlier today. As a significant stakeholder, NRAI was very actively involved in the deliberations preceding the policy rollout and we are extremely happy to see that most of our suggestions have been incorporated in the policy. It is gratifying to see our constant efforts yielding such positive results. On behalf of the entire industry, we thank the Delhi Government for considering our suggestions. We also thank the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for giving his express approval to this progressive policy.

The statement also listed several suggestions which NRAI wanted to make on the matter of the excise policy. They began by asking that the license fee be rationalized on the basis of the area instead of seat covers.

The body also felt that the age of selling and serving liquor should be in consonance with that of the neighboring States. They also felt archaic rules related to not allowing music in independent restaurants and pasting of public notice before grant of HCR licenses be done away with.

It also thought that the impractical restrictions relating to storage and serving of liquor should be removed and the requirement of obtaining multiple licenses prior to the grant of Bar license be done away with. Instead, the Fire NOC could be the only mandatory requirement for obtaining the Bar license.

The timings of operation of bars should be brought at par with the neighboring cities and the operational requirements of the HCR segment should be relaxed by permitting liquor service in the open spaces like terraces and balconies, and additional dispensing counters with a nominal fee, easy transfer of license, etc, it added.

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NRAI may suspend or terminate Navneet Kalra’s membership; says awaiting clarity on case

Kalra owns the restaurants Khan Chacha, Town Hall and Nege & Ju in the national capital, besides eyewear retailer Dayal Opticals. Police seized 524 oxygen concentrators from the premises of the restaurants – Khan Chacha and Town Hall in Khan Market and Nege & Ju in Lodhi Colony – which were allegedly sold at heavily inflated prices.

The National Restaurant Association of India said it may suspend or terminate the membership of New Delhi-based restaurateur Navneet Kalra, who is alleged to have hoarded oxygen concentrators and sold them in the black market.

Kalra owns the restaurant’s Khan Chacha, Town Hall, and Nege & Ju in the national capital, besides eyewear retailer Dayal Opticals. Police seized 524 oxygen concentrators from the premises of the restaurants – Khan Chacha and Town Hall in Khan Market and Nege & Ju in Lodhi Colony – which were allegedly sold at heavily inflated prices.

“We will terminate the said restaurant’s membership if found culpable of any major criminal act or we will suspend the membership if the charges are for some non-serious offenses,” NRAI president Anurag Katriar said. “There are several contradictory stories about this case right now. We are still awaiting an official statement from the authorities on this subject before deciding on our next course of action.”

Katriar said this situation was unprecedented but if Kalra’s restaurants were found culpable of wrongdoing, the NRAI would not hesitate to initiate the most appropriate and strictest disciplinary action against them.

Delhi Police issued a lookout notice for Kalra on Monday.

According to media reports, the public prosecutor told the Saket court hearing Kalra’s anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday that he had “cheated the government” by failing to disclose the MRP for imports of the oxygen concentrators in “violation of orders passed last year.”

However, the chief metropolitan magistrate asked whether it was an offence to do business in this country and stated that there were no allegations of tax or customs duty evasion for the imported oxygen concentrators.

The court observed that all payments were accounted for and all taxes were paid. If the tax was paid, the tax department would have all the information and nothing was concealed, the court said, according to the reports.

The alleged hoarding of oxygen concentrators at Kalra’s restaurants came amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic, with medical oxygen running low in the capital as demand from patients surged. Concentrators, crucial in managing Covid-19, are mainly imported and a scarcity had further aggravated the situation. The industry has been pushing the government to cap the prices of these products at a maximum of three to four times the import landed price.

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NRAI launches New Chapter in Chandigarh, appoints Sunveer Sondhi as the Head

Key Take Away

National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) represents the interests of 500000+ restaurants across India. The Indian Restaurant Industry’s leading Association India launches New Chapter in Chandigarh and appoints Sunveer Sondhi as the Head of NRAI Chandigarh Chapter

Commenting on his new role as Head of NRAI’s Chandigarh Chapter, He said, “It is my honour to take up the responsibility as the Head of NRAI Chandigarh Chapter. “

For More Information Click Below:

bwhotelier.businessworld.in/article/NRAI-launches-New-Chapter-in-Chandigarh-appoints-Sunveer-Sondhi-as-the-Head-/03-06-2020-194118/

National Restaurant Association of India seeks rental waiver of malls

Key Take Away

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has expressed two concerns to mall owners — waiver of charges of rentals and a revised revenue-sharing model, and sought  their urgent intervention to help the beleaguered sector which is staring at closure due to the COVID-19  pandemic

Considering that the proportion of fixed operating expenses in our business is very high, this may lead to
massive operating losses 

For More Information

www.newindianexpress.com/business/2020/may/28/nrai-seeks-rental-waiver-of-malls-2149020.html

NRAI teams up with Dotpe for digital ordering and payment solutions

Key take away

By deploying the Dotpe’s QR-based digital commerce and payments solution, the restaurant fraternity represented by NRAI will be able to reorient their operations by connecting with their customers directly through WhatsApp

Here's how it works :

Guests can scan the QR code placed on the tables from their own mobile phones, and view the entire menu of the restaurant on the phone just like an e-commerce catalogue.

For more information:

https://www.hotelierindia.com/fb/10908-nrai-teams-up-with-dotpe-for-digital-ordering-and-payment-solutions

Karnataka permits bars, clubs to sell liquor at MRP

The move by the Karnataka government is part of its plans to shore up revenues from excise and help the cash-starved state in its battle against COVID-19 and the economic uncertainty that shrouds it.

The notification by the excise department says that establishments with cl-4 (clubs), cl-7 (hotels and boarding houses) and cl-9 (bars and restaurants) outside containment zones and malls or shopping complexes be allowed to resume sales to ensure its stock like beer does not expire and add to their losses.

The excise department notification comes at a time when the B.S. Yediyurappa-led state government has eased lockdown restrictions in most parts of Karnataka including Bengaluru, its growth engine, that has been classified as a red zone.He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should declare Covid-19 as a national disaster and that Yediyurappa should demand a ₹50,000 crore special package for Karnataka.

With taps from the centre drying up, Karnataka has already increased excise prices by 17-25% (depending on slabs) that would help raise at least ₹2,000 crores. The state had set a fiscal target of ₹22,700 crore for the current year and has been clocking high sales ,when liquor sales started in the state.

Manu Chandra, the head of the Bengaluru chapter of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) says that selling liquor at MRP would deplete the investments of such establishments.

The liquor that we have in our stores right now is essentially capital or investment that’s lying with us which whenever we open we may be able to sell at whatever margins we used to

He adds that owners of these restaurants pay a higher renewal fee and the MRP model would hit its “economics for a six".

He says that the lockdown happened at the end of March and much of the stocks had depleted with restaurants normally waiting till the beginning of April to replenish. He says that not everyone in the business may be able to sustain this model and may write to the excise department to stop liquor sales and only keep the kitchen open.

#Logout 2.0: NRAI proposes jointly-owned food delivery platform

What seemed like a compromise between restaurants and aggregators after the much-publicised ‘#logout’ movement last year has turned out to be a temporary truce. Restaurants are gearing up to launch a food delivery platform that will have common ownership and will cater to all the players in the sector.

“Food aggregators have become the digital landlords for us, where we don’t even own that space and are heavily dependent on them for our customer loyalty,” said Thomas Fenn, Co-Founder of Mahabelly Restaurants at a town hall organised by NRAI.

On August 14, 2019, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) had announced the ‘#logout’ movement to remove the distortion created by food aggregators through huge discounting.

"Aggregators have distorted a vibrant marketplace by aggressive discounting and predatory pricing," NRAI had said in a statement, last year. While the logout movement had just created a social media buzz, the current scenario due to Covid-19 has cemented the belief among restaurant owners that the industry needs to take back the control.

He mentioned that food aggregators have not made profits in the last seven years. “In the last five years, the commission charged by the aggregators have gone up from 6% to 24%. All these models have helped in driving their valuation than us,” Fenn added.

To overcome the delivery cost, NRAI has nudged restaurants to work in tandem with delivery vendors to utilise their existing fleet. With an array of new technology platforms like Dunzo and Delhivery, restaurants expect to strip down the delivery cost. The model proposed by the industry association is not without precedence. The restaurant association in Dubai has started working on its own digital platform which is likely to help restaurants reduce commissions by up to 26%.

Beam Suntory pledges ₹1 cr to help restaurant workers, bartenders

Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits, has come forward to support the food and beverage community in India at this time of social distancing to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

With the lockdown of restaurants and bars across the country to maintain social distancing, several thousand members of the hospitality community have been affected financially. Beam Suntory India is partnering with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the largest restaurant body in the country, to pledge support of ₹1 crore which will be used to provide relief to thousands of staff of member restaurants and their families at this period of the lockdown

Beam Suntory is also utilising The Blend, its global bartender engagement programme , to directly reach out and support the bartender community in India. The company has launched a ‘learn and earn’ program to encourage bartenders to utilise their time at home effectively by taking up online training modules.

Reading material and virtual engagement modules have been made available online, where bartenders can continue to be safe at home and enhance their knowledge and skills. To make the learning experience rewarding, The Blend will host online programmes every day, spread across 50 sessions, with prizes for the participants.