Sports enthusiasts nationwide enjoyed an action-packed Super Sunday, igniting a surge in business for restaurants and bars.
The day kicked off with the Wimbledon finals featuring Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, televised in India at 6.30 pm. This was followed by the Euro Cup finals starting at 12.30 am, with Spain and England battling it out, and concluding with the Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia in the early hours of Monday.
While many venues were unable to screen the late-night football matches, several showed the Wimbledon finals.
Ashish Ahuja, director of the 26-year-old Pebble Street café in New Friends Colony in the national capital, reported a 50 per cent occupancy during the tennis event.
“Despite tennis not being a major spectator sport, we received several reservations. We anticipate a rise in late-night deliveries due to the football action,” he said on Sunday evening.
The quick-service restaurant chain Wow! Momo expected a 20 per cent increase in deliveries compared to a typical Sunday.
“We noticed the impact of the Euros on our orders since the Round of 16 stage, following the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup,” said Sagar Daryani, co-founder and chief executive officer of Wow! Momo.
Calling it a blockbuster Sunday, he added, “We’ve stocked up adequately for the expected surge in late-night deliveries. For such events — short, intense 90-minute games — we take extra measures like additional staffing and overtime to ensure an uninterrupted customer experience.”
In football-loving Kolkata, Hashtag Pub on Chowringhee Road expected a 35 per cent increase in footfall.
“We expect a surge in deliveries for the late-night matches, with a projected 40-50 per cent rise in delivery orders for the Euro Cup and Copa finals,” said Nitin Agarwal, founder and managing partner of Hashtag Pub, on Sunday evening.
Taki Taki, a Japanese restaurant in Kolkata, also expected fair growth in its daily dining business.
“The increase in numbers is exciting, and we look forward to the Euro Cup finals. We plan to focus more on hosting such screenings in the future,” said Anshuman Singh, director at Taki Taki.
The excitement was palpable in Bengaluru as well.
Public — The Rooftop Bar & Kitchen on Bannerghatta Road expected increased delivery orders via platforms like Zomato and Swiggy.
“We expect a 20 per cent rise in deliveries compared to our usual 5-10 per cent, as we traditionally focus on dine-in. We will tailor match screenings according to customer preferences to ensure satisfaction,” said Mithun Shetty, director of Public — The Rooftop Bar & Kitchen.
The Pump House in JP Nagar also screened the Euro Cup finals.
“We expect 600-800 walk-ins for the final match. As a result, we project sales of Rs 5 lakh,” said Prateek Mehta, operations manager at The Pump House, before the matches began.
Meanwhile, Ajith Kumar, restaurant manager at Arbor Brewing Company, planned to screen the India versus Zimbabwe T20 cricket tournament, expecting revenues of Rs 4 lakh.
According to the recently released India Food Services Report 2024 by the National Restaurant Association of India, the average monthly frequency of eating out has increased by 20 per cent to 7.9 times in 2023-24, up from 6.6 times in 2018-19.
The report also highlighted the rapid growth in India’s online food delivery market, estimating 66 million users among the urban population. This figure has seen mid-single-digit growth over the past two years.
First Published: Jul 14 2024 | 7:48 PM IST
