Eateries trim menus, face temporary shutdown as LPG supply affected

MUMBAI/BENGALURU: The war in West Asia has hit home for restaurants across the country. A severe crunch of LPG supplies means a temporary shutdown for some, while many have already moved to induction cookers to stay afloat or restricted menu choices to do away with slow-cooking items, report Asmita Dey and Supriya Roy.

Anjan Chatterjee, founder of Speciality Restaurants which owns brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta said Bengaluru and Chennai have been the most impacted markets for the company with certain parts of Delhi and Kolkata also facing supply disruption.




For now, kitchens are making do with induction and rice cookers but if supplies don't become adequately available in a day or two, restaurants will have to shut down, said Chatterjee. "About 70% of my food is Chinese. For that, we need high-pressure gas burners. No gas, no cooking," he said.

Many Chennai eateries have shut shop: Hotel body chief

In Chennai, several small eateries have shut shop, Ravi Muthukrishnan, chairman of Vasanta Bhavan Hotels and president of Chennai Hotels Association told TOI. Some of them said they were running low on cylinders and grappling with delayed delivery of replacements.

From Chinese to biryani, a lot of items at these eateries require slow cooking, which means higher gas consumption. Gas agencies have said they do not have enough stock of commercial gas cylinders. “LPG cylinders have not been available for the past two days,” said Muthukrishnan. Restaurants that had moved to piped gas have been spared so far.

“We are assessing all possible options to keep the business afloat. Our rents won’t be waived; salaries, final advance tax payments and liquor licence renewals need to be done. Restaurants operate on the basis of monthly cash flows,” said Pawan Shahri, co-founder at Mumbai-based Chrome Asia Hospitality, which owns brands such as Gigi and Donna Deli.

Debaditya Chaudhury, MD of Chowman, said its restaurants in Mumbai and Bengaluru were already facing supply challenges. He added that the firm would look into restricting items on the menu.

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