Even as Karnataka has allowed restaurants to reopen for dining-in from June 8, several restaurants may not be ready to restart given labour shortage the sector is seeing, and the standard operating procedures (SOPs) mandating only 50 percent seating capacity.

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The central government has allowed restaurants, hotels and malls to reopen from June 8 as part of the first phase of Unlock 1.

However, many restaurant owners are short of labour to restart operations, and are also sceptical whether customers would turn up.

"We expect 40-50% restaurants will open on June 8. Several restaurants are facing labour shortage and we also expect resistance from customers to come to restaurants," said Subramanaya Holla, secretary, Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, and owner of Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan in Bengaluru's Gandhi Bazaar area.

Another area of concern for the sector is the stringent SOPs issued by the government.

The ministry of health and family welfare on Thursday issued SOPs for the restaurant industry.

The SoPs state that restaurants will have to maintain adequate social distancing norms and they can only operate at 50 percent seating capacity.

The government has also said that takeaways should be encouraged instead of dine-ins.

"50% capacity not feasible for longer term. More staff will be impacted due to 50% seating norms, since we will have to let go of more workers," Holla said.

The restaurant sector has taken a massive hit during the lockdown, as they were allowed to stay open only for takeaways.

"I am closing two of my four restaurants because I don't expect the situation to improve at least for a year. 10% of restaurants in Bengaluru have been out on sale by owners," Holla added.

First Published:Jun 5, 2020 9:20 PM IST