Hyderabad’s nightlife extension: a balancing act for restaurants and residents

The change in timings is likely to impact city’s 75,000-odd eateries.
| Photo Credit: Representational picture

Extension of operating hours of eateries in Hyderabad from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. has drawn mixed reactions. While most young professionals that The Hindu spoke to welcomed the decision, restaurant owners expressed diverse views regarding the change, some optimistic, some not so much.

Mohammad Asim of ‘Famous Ice Creams’ in Mozzamjahi Market said their customers are used to the earlier closing time (12 a.m.) and the business does not expect a significant influx of customers during the additional hour.

Anil Verma, CEO of ‘Mehfil Group of Restaurants’, echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the impact would be more pronounced in branches near the IT clusters. “In fact, our business [during the additional hour] might not match the investment we would have to make for keeping the outlets open for another hour,” he said.

Fahad Ahmed of ‘Sauced Up’ in Masab Tank, however, is among those expecting better returns, with a boost in sales offline and online. “About 10% of our last hour sales go affected when we were shutting down at midnight,” he said.

‘Naturals Ice Cream’ on Sardar Patel Road in Begumpet is seeing customer count go up by at least 20-25 between 12 a.m. and 12.40 a.m. daily. “These are generally youth who walk in as they see the outlet open; we expect more growth during the season,” said Raman, the manager.

Among the 75,000-odd eateries in the city, the impact is most felt in eateries operating in the bustling IT hub of Cyberabad. Avinash Kumar, owner of ‘Dome Cafe‘ on the popular DLF Street, said things have been better for the past month as the police do not push them to put up the shutters.

Welcome move for customers

In Hyderabad, which has a large population of young professionals, the move was welcomed even by those who don’t eat out regularly.

A live-in-couple from Secunderabad, who did not wish to be named, saw their anniversary date fall through in August as most restaurants closed at 10 p.m. “After working late, we were excited for our dinner date, only to see most restaurants were already shutting down. We ended up cooking after spending half an hour making calls to check if any of them would serve by the time we arrived. Not to mention how this also affects the appetite,” the couple shared.

Sruti Rajan, a private employee from Bollarum said: “Being working parents of a toddler, the only time we get to step out is after 10 p.m. We rush out to grab a bite after asking our parents to keep an eye on our sleeping child.” The extension of the operating hours, though just by an hour, comes as a breather for them as they will not have to worry too much about the restaurant closing.

Anwesha Dash, a 25-year-old IT professional from Gachibowli, said she will no longer have to compromise on quality for her midnight cravings. “Earlier, good eateries would stop taking orders by 11-11.30 p.m., and the only option left were the cloud kitchens, which felt like a compromise,” she explained.

Aditya Sharma, 26-year-old techie in Gachibowli, said he is no longer worried about sleeping hungry after a late shift. A wide range of options is a bonus, he added.