Late-night food joints in a soup due to lockdown restrictions

While a majority of the dozen such food joints DT Next reached out to were either unresponsive, others were learnt to be remaining shut since late March. However, a few defy rules and continue to take orders well past allowed operational hours.

A Selvaraj, the manager at Midnight Express in Alwarpet, says that the restaurant that usually opens for service by 7 pm has been closed ever since the first phase of the lockdown. Pointing to how the joint’s name itself has a reference to night activity, he added that a meeting by the management this month would chart the restaurant’s future course of operations. A Vasanthakumar (30) of Chennight Restaurant mentions his joint in Shenoy Nagar having closed down even before the lockdown was announced. His workers from the northern part of the country were on their regular visit to their native when it came, he added. Sulaiman Nissar, whose son Mohammed Imran is the proprietor of Twilight Takeout in Nungambakkam, said that operations at the food joint have been suspended with all those “who went home locked down in their places”. With Imran stranded in Dubai, no decision would be made until he returns, Nissar added.

With public transport opening up slowly in the city as well as restrictions on safety equipment, some feel that people will feel disinterested in visiting hotels due to the many number of rules. Additionally, some fear that the rising number of cases has residents erring on the side of caution.

“It is also the principle of the matter. We do not want to cause any additional outbreak in the city. While we can check temperatures and ensure our staff are hygienic, at the end of the day, the city has over 10,000 cases, and so there is a high risk,” said another restaurant-owner.