Restaurants in Maharashtra to open till 1 am: State Govt

The government of Maharashtra today announced the opening of restaurants in Mumbai and other parts of the state till 1 am.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the Maharashtra Government's decision to allow restaurants to operate till 1 am. We thank the Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray ji, Hon'ble Tourism Minister Shri Aaditya Thackeray ji and the Tourism Dept. for it. The extension will definitely be a boost for businesses and will encourage several restaurants to re-open which have continued to remain shut since the lockdown,” Pradeep Shetty, Sr Vice President, Hotel and Restaurant Association Of Western India (HRAWI).

At present, diners have to be at the restaurant before 9:30 pm max to ensure they have a table and the last order is taken latest by 10:30 pm. With the Hospitality industry in grave losses, the sector has been pleading with the Government to relax the timings for restaurants.

“This is a most welcome move as it has the potential to generate anywhere between Rs.50 Cr to Rs.75 Cr revenue per day for the industry,” added Shetty.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) last month urged the Maharashtra government to allow restaurants to operate for an additional two hours. In a letter sent to the state government, HRAWI stated that an extension of two hours to the existing closing time of 11:30 pm has the potential to generate anywhere between Rs 50 crore to Rs 75 crore per day.