Sleepless Mumbai is waking up slowly

NEW DELHI: The food and beverages industry is expecting a big boost to business and greater employment opportunities in Mumbai, because of the new relaxed rules that allow restaurants and fast-food outlets in the city to remain open all night.

Chains such as Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality, which runs brands like Social and Smoke House Deli, have already begun promotions and offers following the move. Industry associations said they have submitted similar proposals for cities like Delhi and Bengaluru, which should also follow suit.

The government of Maharashtra has approved the proposal of allowing malls, shops and restaurants to remain open 24/7 starting this week.


“Eating out post-midnight has so far been restricted to some shady lane or going to a five-star hotel. It is not very egalitarian. Now people have options of casual dining. The industry has been lobbying for every city for this and Mumbai has gone ahead and done this,” Impresario chief executive Riyaaz Amlani said, adding: “If India wants to be considered a global tourism hotspot, then we need to do these things.”

Amlani said out of his over 20 outlets in Mumbai, six across brands like Smoke House Deli, Social and Ishaara would now be open till 4 am.

Zorawar Kalra, the founder of Massive Restaurants that runs brands like Farzi Café, said out of his 10 outlets in Mumbai, four would be open all night from Wednesday. If demand is encouraging, he will keep all his outlets open all night.

“We are very hopeful that it will create good demand and people will be able to eat out at established restaurants late at night,” Kalra said, adding that it would help the three major stakeholders. Citizens and tourists will get access to highquality, hygienic places to eat; the exchequer will benefit because longer working hours means greater revenue for the establishments and higher tax collection for the government; and this will generate more employment opportunities as well, he said.

“Any restaurant that will be open all night will require an additional shift. A lot of my restaurants have already hired extra people. We are expecting 15-20% increase in employment across our restaurants,” he said. “Delhi and Bengaluru should follow suit. More tourism helps everybody.”

Anurag Katriar, the CEO of Degustibus Hospitality and a member of the National Restaurant Association of India, said his association had made appeals to authorities in Delhi and Bengaluru to follow suit.

“If you want to grow the size of your economy, you need to increase the number of hours of business conducted. I think it will make a big impact on business,” he said. “Our food court in Nariman Point is now open all night besides three other restaurants. Tote on the Turf in Mahalakshmi would also be open from this weekend. Our teams are also coming up with offers. It will catch more fervour as we go.”

Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India president Dilip Datwani said the move should lead to an increase in employment besides giving a fillip to the tourism industry. “Tourists coming to the city will also be enticed to stay extra. Even the traffic will ease out … Malls and restaurants have begun planning marketing and promotions around this,” he said.

Adarsh Shetty, a member of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, which has about 8,000 members, said he was hopeful that with time, the move would help the industry and its people. “…you should also open places for the common man besides the malls and gated areas,” he said.