Noida restaurants write to landowners, mall owners seeking relief from rent

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Friday shot a letter to top mall owners and landlords, seeking a complete waiver on rentals and common area maintenance fee, in case food and beverage businesses are completely shut for dine-in due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Anticipating more restrictions in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the association said in the letter that it wants pure revenue share for the period when operations will be restricted and no minimum guaranteed rents for three months post that.

The open letter, undersigned by president of NRAI Kabir Suri, said, “We are seeking these reliefs just for ensuring long term survivability of the F&B business. It is going to be a challenge and we assure you that we are willing to walk together with you through these challenging times with all resources at our command and we seek a similar assurance from you.”

The letter also states that most of the landlords have been generous and made significant contribution to the survival of the players in the industry.

According to Varun Khera, head of NRAI’s Noida chapter, apart from the open letter to landowners, the letter has been written individually to all prominent mall owners in Gautam Buddh Nagar as well. He said there are at least 200 restaurants and eateries in Gautam Budh Nagar, which are still struggling to survive.

“During the second wave last year, restaurants were shut in Gautam Budh Nagar for about three months and night curfew restrictions continued till October. As a result, the hospitality industry has been badly affected and we have not been able to recover the losses. Hence, as a pre-emptive measure, we have asked for financial support from land and mall owners,” said Khera, who is the owner of Desi Vibes restaurant in Sector 18 market, Noida.

He added, “While we are thankful to the government that restaurants are being allowed to operate at 50% capacity, we are afraid that more restrictions may be imposed. Hence, we have called out land and mall store owners for relief.”.

On January 6, the NRAI had also written to the ministry of home affairs asking for immediate relief to restaurants and permit longer operating hours to reduce overcrowding. It had also asked for directions to states to permit delivery of food from restaurants as part of essential services.

When asked, Syed Shameem Anwar, associate director (marketing) at Entertainment City in Sector 38-A, said, “We will review the appeal of the sector and take a decision accordingly”. Officials at DLF Mall, Noida did not comment on the issue.

Requesting anonymity, a landlord at Noida’s Sector 18 said, “It is too soon to take a decision as restaurants are still running. We will still wait and watch to see how long restrictions are in place and whether there will be more curbs”.

According to SK Jain, president of Sector 18 Market Association, landlords should consider the request of the hospitality industry. “Covid has had an adverse impact on restaurants and landlords should consider their appeal for relief. Such an appeal also depends on the relations between restaurant owners and landlords as earlier during first and second wave, landowners have been accommodating in terms of rent pay,” he said.

He further suggested both stakeholders to make a permanent provision for impact of lockdown in rent agreements. “We don’t know how long the pandemic will last . Hence, restaurant owners should add a clause or provision for relief in their agreement with landowners,” he said.