Uptick in Pujo sales give Kolkata cafes & restos a reason to cheer

Kolkata restaurateurs were keeping their fingers crossed this Durga Puja, as the RG Kar incident and subsequent protests had kept patrons away and hit business hard in recent months. But the festive rush washed away all apprehensions. “The city’s F&B industry did 15% more business than they did the last Durga Puja,” said Sudesh Poddar, president, Hotel and Restaurants Association of Eastern India, and owner of Manthan, Sanghai and MS Bar & Lounge. “Most restaurants saw an increase in footfall and business, especially from family groups,” he added.


Footfall high at food courts and in-mall restaurants
City restaurateurs are obviously happy with Pujo business. “The sales this year were 30% better than last year despite Ashtami and Nabami overlapping. The City Centre I food court area was converted into a fine dining area with restaurants like Burger King, Chili’s Grill and Bar and Fabbrica. These three brands pulled 30,000 people during the four days of Pujo,” shared Ramesh Pandey, wholetime director, Ambuja Neotia Group. According to Acropolis Mall sources, Pujo business was excellent. “The combined footfall in our foodcourt over the five Pujo days exceeded 7000 ,” informed Subhadip Basu, GM of the mall. The South City Mall food court also witnessed a footfall of over 10,000 on each of the five days of Pujo. “The restaurants and lounge area had the maximum rush during late-night dining hours,” said Man Mohan Bagree, VP, South City Projects.


Cafés draw a young crowd

Cafes witnessed a surge in young patrons during the festive days. “The footfall was almost like last year, mostly post noon,” said Shilpa Chakraborty, co-owner of Tribe and Dastaan, adding that Tribe attracted a lot of youngsters. “They explored the menu, and ordered fish and chips, chicken stroganoff etc. Orders for cappuccinos and cold brews also peaked,” she added, revealing that Dastaan attracted the family crowd, who mostly ordered biryani and non-veg kebabs.

‘The festive crowd picked up from Panchami’ Nikhil Chawla, owner Poach and Marbella’s, told us that both outlets did good business during Pujo and that the festive rush picked up from Panchami. “This was the best Pujo we had since we started operations five years ago. The restaurants were crowded from 10am to 3am. Saptami and Nabami witnessed massive rush and we were fully booked for lunch on Dashami,” he said, adding that fish, chicken-based dishes, the mutton thali and pizza were their best-sellers.


The Pujo footfall was more than double that on regular days. Our special Paet Pujo thali from the Pujo menu was a hit
– Satyajit Dhingra, COO, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt Ltd


All our outlets – Chowman, Oudh 1590, and Chapter 2 – saw a surge in footfall post Saptami. We had to extend our operating hours to 3 am. Online orders were also decent. Basic dishes like mixed fried rice, Manchurian and
chili fish were in high demand
– Debaditya Chaudhary, director of Chowman, Oudh 1590 & Chapter 2


Pujo best-sellers

• Awadhi handi biryani & raan biryani
• Traditional Bengali thalis
• Galouti kebabs
• Finger food

Food courts in city malls witnessed high footfall on all days of Durga Puja