Chennai

While a majority of the dozen such food joints DT Next reached out to were either unresponsive, others were learnt to be remaining shut since late March. However, a few defy rules and continue to take orders well past allowed operational hours.

A Selvaraj, the manager at Midnight Express in Alwarpet, says that the restaurant that usually opens for service by 7 pm has been closed ever since the first phase of the lockdown. Pointing to how the joint’s name itself has a reference to night activity, he added that a meeting by the management this month would chart the restaurant’s future course of operations. A Vasanthakumar (30) of Chennight Restaurant mentions his joint in Shenoy Nagar having closed down even before the lockdown was announced. His workers from the northern part of the country were on their regular visit to their native when it came, he added. Sulaiman Nissar, whose son Mohammed Imran is the proprietor of Twilight Takeout in Nungambakkam, said that operations at the food joint have been suspended with all those “who went home locked down in their places”. With Imran stranded in Dubai, no decision would be made until he returns, Nissar added.

Despite ease of restrictions, some hotels remain closed

While a majority of the dozen such food joints DT Next reached out to were either unresponsive, others were learnt to be remaining shut since late March. However, a few defy rules and continue to take orders well past allowed operational hours.“This general rule, which has been applied in Tamil Nadu for safety purposes, makes no sense. Offices, hospitals and government premises can use air-conditioning, but showrooms, shops and restaurants cannot. It is impractical to go without air-conditioning during this summer, and seems rather unfair that only select establishments have this rule,” he said, citing that even offices with airconditioning pose a risk of outbreak.

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