The recently introduced restrictions by the Maharashtra government to fight the fast-rising coronavirus cases have hit the restaurant businesses hard when it was just on the road to recovery after a tough 2020.

Anjan Chatterjee, CMD of Speciality Restaurants, on Tuesday told CNBC-TV18 that food delivery restriction beyond 8 pm is a big blow.

Under the new "Break the Chain" plan, all restaurants and bars will remain shut till April 30 but home deliveries are still allowed between 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Chatterjee said, “The peak time comes after 8 pm. 8 pm to 11 pm – and that has hit us very badly. We are trying to request the government to reconsider that. During the lockdown (2020) it was not done. The deliveries were on in the world throughout. So we will try and convince the government to ensure that they help us do the business of delivery at least to exist.”

Talking about takeaways, he said, “The takeout during lockdown was mixed because we were given the time till 11-11:30 pm and now it will be not more than 25 percent, but that also we do not know because the conditions of Maharashtra are bad and people may or may not order in the morning from 12 pm to 6 pm because the order has to leave by 7 pm. So, I do not think it would be more than 20-25 percent.”

“There seems to be some confusion on weekend takeaways. We are trying to understand and decode that a bit,” said Chatterjee.

For the full interview, watch the video

(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)