Sports fans across the country had a super Sunday, filled with sporting action, fuelling business for restaurants and bars.
It began with the Wimbledon finals played between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, aired in India at 6.30 pm; followed by the Euro Cup finals that started from 12.30 am onwards where Spain and England locked horns, and finally the COPA America final between Argentina and Colombia aired during the wee hours of Monday.
While most establishments could not air the football events, owing to the late hours, many screened the Wimbledon finals.
Pebble Street café in New Friends Colony had a 50 per cent occupancy as the tennis action was underway, said Ashish Ahuja, director at the 26-year-old establishment.
“Even though tennis is not a spectator sport, we did see a significant number of reservations for the event. We are also anticipating an uptick in deliveries for the late-night football action,” he said on Sunday evening.
Quick service restaurant chain Wow Momos expected to see a 20 per cent increase in deliveries compared to a normal Sunday.
“We started seeing the impact of the Euros on our orders from the Group of 16 stage, which was right after the cricket T20 World Cup,” said Sagar Daryani, co-founder and chief executive officer of the quick service restaurant chain.
Calling it a blockbuster Sunday, he added, “We have amply stocked up for the uptick we will see in night deliveries on Sunday night. To prepare for such events – short, 90-minute crunch games – we usually make extra efforts like additional manpower and overtime by employees to make sure the customer experience is not compromised.”
In the football-loving Kolkata, Hashtag pub on Chowringhee Road anticipated a 35 per cent increase in footfall.
“We anticipate a surge in deliveries for the late-night sporting action, with an expected increase of 40-50 per cent in delivery orders for the Euro Cup finals and the COPA finals. We’re thrilled to see the excitement around the Euro Cup finals and Wimbledon and are proud to be a part of it. We’re looking forward to a fantastic finish to the tournament,” Nitin Agarwal, founder and managing partner at the establishment, said on Sunday evening.
Taki Taki, a Japanese restaurant in the City of Joy, also anticipated a fair growth in its daily dining business.
“The surge in numbers is exciting, and we are looking forward to the Euro Cup finals. We plan to focus more on hosting such screenings in the days to come,” said Anshuman Singh, director at Taki Taki, Kolkata.
The excitement was palpable in Bengaluru too.
The Rooftop Bar and Kitchen, situated on Bannerghatta Road, anticipated increased delivery orders via platforms like Zomato and Swiggy.
“We anticipate a 20 per cent increase in deliveries, compared to our usual 5-10 per cent, as we traditionally focus on dining in. We will screen matches per customer preferences to ensure satisfaction,” Mithun Shetty, director, Public- The Rooftop Bar and Kitchen, said on Sunday evening.
The Pump House in JP Nagar also screened the Euro Cup finals. “We anticipate about 600-800 guests to walk in on the occasion of the match final. On the back of this, we anticipate sales of Rs 5 lakh,” said Prateek Mehta, operations manager at The Pump House before the matches began.
Meanwhile, Ajith Kumar, restaurant manager of Arbor Brewing Company, had plans of screening the India vs Zimbabwe T20 cricket tournament with an expectation to note Rs 4 lakh in revenue.
According to the recently released India Food Services Report-2024 by the National Restaurant Association of India, the average monthly eating out frequency has seen a 20 per cent increase to 7.9 times in 2023-24 from 6.6 times in 2018-19.
It added that the online food delivery market in India is growing rapidly, with an estimated 6.6 crore food delivery platform users among the urban population. This number has seen mid-single-digit growth in the last two years, it further said.
First Published: Jul 14 2024 | 7:48 PM IST
