Roadside eateries offering cheap liquor add white-collared workers to their clientele
Roadside eateries offering cheap liquor add white-collared workers to their clientele
Sample this. The sale of liquor at restro-bars dipped by a whopping 51 per cent in April-May 2009 over a corresponding period last year.
As pink slips and paycuts become the norm across the corporate world, young working professionals are reviewing the expenditure on booze and smoke.
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Instead of enjoying their favourite peg at a posh restro-bar, young executives now prefer to sip drinks at roadside dhabas that serve liquor at little or no extra cost. However, these makeshift bars are operating without any licence.
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As young executives from nearby buildings shut down their computers and move on to the agenda of beating the work stress, the local restaurant becomes the top priority.
The restaurant's tandoor lits up the evening and soon all seats are taken. And that's not just because it serves some lip-smacking food but because the waiters get alcohol from the nearby liquor shop at no extra cost.
Interestingly, the liquor vend has also started noticing a change in the profile of the customers for past few months. Some "bosses" have also started frequenting the shop while earlier it was limited to their staff.
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Priyank Kumar, a senior banking professional who works at an office in Nehru Place said, "It's foolish to pay exorbitant amount at premium bars especially during recession. We already had a salary cut.
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Moreover barring air-conditioner, there is everything good music, great food, comfortable seating, decent crowd and to top it all a lighter bill."
A waiter, soliciting anonymity, told MiD DAY: "On dry days no one would visit this place because we aren't able to serve liquor but the next day we make up for the loss.
Most of our patrons are professionals who work in the offices located nearby.
Now we find it good when big bosses of various companies come at our place for a sip. They also offer good tip. On a single night we manage to make somewhere between Rs 2,000 and 3,000."
Other roadside vends like the Indian restaurant are also making hay.
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MultiCusine Dhaba at Kapashera border get its majority customers from Gurgaon's call centres and BPOs. Though this dhaba is opened throughout the day but only a handful of customers visit this place during the daytime.
This dhaba has a small paan (beetle leaf) shop and a local liquor shop generally called theka selling chilled beer, whisky and vodka.
With the huge signboard it also attracts a large number of travelers and drivers entering Delhi through this route.
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Raju (name changed), a 15-year-old waiter at this dhaba said, "Everyday the sale at this particular junction is between Rs 15,000 and 20,000.
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However, everyone has a share in the earnings right from the local police to the corporator. It helps you carry out your business openly."
Chick Inn at Malviya Nagar is another haven for those returning from their offices who stops mid-way for a merry drink.
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Executives stopping for a drink under the table with a slice of chicken are a common sight here. "We don't have to worry about the police here," a customer told MiD DAY.
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