From Hard Rock Cafe to a Bengaluru bakery⁠— disposable menus, no live bands, half the number of tables, and fewer waiters are part of the post-COVID strategy

• After coronavirus lockdown, dining experience at restaurants will not remain the same as before.
  
• Social distancing norms will be in place as restaurants reduce their capacity by half and bring in new rules for dining.
  
• Hard Rock Cafe, which has 7 restaurants across India, has drafted a plan to ensure 3-feet distance between guests and servers.
  

Restaurants in India have been shut for over 40 days now, with only some working in minimal capacity for takeaways. According to reports, as many as half a million restaurants might not survive the extended lockdown.

And restaurants are cognizant of the fact that survival won’t come without practicing strict social distancing norms. India’s restaurants are now preparing a post-covid-19 plan to open up. And the dining experience at these restaurants may not be the same as before.

A 3-feet distance
A large number of restaurants say they are likely to limit the maximum number of people at their restaurants at a particular time.

Hard Rock Cafe, which has 7 cafes in India, told Business Insider that it will reduce its capacity by ensuring at least three-feet distance between the guests and a 6-feet distance between tables.

They are also planning to roll out contactless menu and payment services, as well as providing disposable menus. Furthermore, Hard Rock, which is famous for its live music events, said there will be no such large gathering events for a long time post Covid.

Whereas, Bengaluru-based Magnolia Bakery India will encourage people to take away than dine at the cafe.

“Our tables are lined up in the front of our space. At this point, our plan is to remove every alternate table at the bakery to make sure that everyone is seated at a safe distance,” Zonu Reddy, co-founder Magnolia Bakery India told Business Insider.

Contactless dining
Another new normal post lockdown will be contactless dining. Some of the restaurants are signing up with food aggregators to offer customers to order and pay bills without any human contact.

Foodtech unicorn Zomato recently launched its ‘contactless dining’ feature where people can order from the menu by scanning a QR code on the table. Soon after, digital payments leader Paytm too launched a similar feature.

“Guests will be entertained on the basis of bookings and the menu orders can be done with aggregators through online apps. The sitting arrangement will be made keeping in mind that each guest will be seated at least in a distance of one metre,” said Basab Paul, the owner of 'Mia Cuccinna' and 'Invincible Boudoir et Jardin', Mumbai.

With most restaurants adapting technology and moving to contactless dining, will also mean that thousands of jobs will be at stake, various restaurant owners told Business Insider.

According to reports, as much as 7.5 million jobs in the restaurant industry will be gone with the coronavirus pandemic.

See also: Zomato announces contactless dining with QR codes and digital payments in a post-lockdown world
You’re stuck cooking at home long after lockdown ends as half a million restaurants may shut down