Since we must all follow physical distancing protocols, we have reduced our covers and staggered our reservations to maximise the distance between tables. Having fewer people in a restaurant has definitely affected overall revenue, but we also see it as an opportunity.

We are able to pay our guests personalised attention and suggest they try new spirits we are carrying, or sample some of our new cocktails.

The safety of our staff, patrons and suppliers is of paramount importance. Hygiene protocols, including temperature checks of all staff twice a day, sanitising furniture after use, washing every ingredient that enters the establishments, are being followed.

We have also employed different touch-free technology (Airmenus) so that people can check our menus on their smartphones and pay their bills using online links to PayU, GPay, PayTM, etc.

Industry support

The beverage industry as a whole has been very supportive of restaurants and bars. Diageo proactively helped by creating funds for restaurants and supplying us with kits, with everything we need to deal with the new normal.

Svami (tonic water) hosted competitions offering cash prizes, and luckily we (PCO) won that competition! Many distributors have extended credit periods and many beer brands have offered to take back expiring stock. Zomato helped out by giving a small sum to pay our junior-most staff.

The main thing that we can recommend is minimising costs in terms of salaries, rents and ordering very judiciously. Keep staffing to the bare minimum, keep landlords in the loop with how things are going so you can work together to find a way forward.

The most important lessons we’ve learnt is to save when things are good, try to keep ahead of costs at all times, and keep current on credit cycles with vendors.

What I’ve learnt is to not rely on things always going the way you envision them. Be ready for disruption, and always be willing to pivot into new business lines. More information on that very soon!