Late night food delivery options at restaurants on the rise

We see some change in the regular mindset of people: restaurateurs

15/03/2020, P.A. NARAYANI ,SANJANA GANESHMADURAI

Preparation of late dinner at a hotel in Madurai. G. Moorthy

Restaurants in Madurai are seeing an overall spurt in people dining out and ordering food late at night. With Tamil Nadu government permitting shops and commercial establishments employing over 10 people to stay open for 24 hours, restaurateurs say that they are starting to see some change in the regular mindset of people.

Proprietor of the Temple City hotel K.L. Kumar who has opened the city’s first 24*7 restaurant, says that though Madurai has carried the tag of ‘Thoonga Nagaram’ for years, there have been no fully-functional restaurants serving food beyond 11 p.m.

“Since our restaurant is located opposite the bus stand in Mattuthavani, there are a lot of customers who stop over for food at odd hours. The aim is to ensure that they have a dine-in option,” he says.

R. Manohar, who manages Bismi Biriyani, a popular take-away shop, says that there has been a tremendous rise in the number of late-night delivery options. They have even established a separate wing just to cater to their online deliveries.

“Although we close our orders by 12 a.m., there is a rush of orders between 10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. We get at least 50 orders on weekdays. The numbers are definitely higher on weekends,” he says.

B. Muthumani, a delivery boy, says that currently food delivery apps close orders by 12 a.m.

“But, in other metropolitan cities, including Chennai, orders are accepted till 3 a.m. So, if more restaurants are open late at night, then such an option can be extended in Madurai too,” he says.

A worker at Mukku Kadai K. Subbu restaurant says that their restaurant is quite crowded even till 1 a.m. At Dindigul Thalappakatti biriyani, food is served until 2 a.m., they say.

Despite this change, most restaurants, however, say that they are hesitant about opening shop all night. Mr. Manohar says that they have limited staff who need to come back early the next day to begin preparations for the next day’s sale.

“The number of staff tends to be unreliable. We cannot gamble,” he says.

A source from Mukku Kadai K. Subbu says that there is a drop in the number of clients who visit post 12.30 a.m. “There are very few people who really venture out too late. It is not part of the culture,” he says.

M.P. Murugappan, who helps run a registered push-cart stall near Mattuthavani’s fruit market, says that those who are used to the late night culture are vendors, labourers and truck drivers who stop and eat at pushcarts.

This is the same case near Simmakkal and Arapalayam too and adds that it is the pride of the city but is not preferred by many. “Most places do not have tables or a sit-down option. We also just serve basic tiffin items. The number of dishes is limited,” he says.

Mr. Kumar agrees and says that it is time for people to make use of options and for more restaurants to open up so that trust is built both ways.

“Only if more restaurants open, can more people venture out. Only if more venture out, will the streets become safer and normal. It works both ways,” he says.