Commercial LPG price hike: Will dining out get more expensive? Here’s what Gurgaon eateries say

Vivek Thacker, proprietor of the popular Civil Line Wala chole bhature outlet in Gurgaon said he hopes the hike is temporary. “Definitely, there will be losses, but let us wait and watch. The burden will increase on everyone, from sales to customers, but we will not pass on the hike right now…”

Akshit Behl, growth and investment head at Khadak Singh Da Dhaba, which has eight outlets in Gurgaon and several across Delhi and Noida, said the price hike will be incremental. “Now, with even prices of raw material increasing, we will have to pass on the costs to the customers, but gradually. As of now, we will start with a 10-12% hike so the customer does not feel the pinch immediately and suddenly… A bigger hike may follow in the coming months.”

Vicky Saluja of Baby Dragon, a multi-cuisine bar and restaurant in Noida, said the rates will be hiked. “It has come as a complete shocker. We will have to increase prices by at least 5%,” he said.

A staffer at Zahra restaurant in Shaheen Bagh said they will absorb the costs for now. “All restaurants are opposed to the hike here but what can we do? We will wait for now (for some possible relief) before increasing prices; we have not raised them at all since the war began”, he claimed.

For now, more elite places seem to be shielded.

“We run on piped gas so it does not affect us as of now, but when prices of commercial PNG also goes up, we will see,” said Praveen Bhatia, owner of Perch Wine & Coffee Bar that has outlets at Khan Market, Greater Kailash and Vasant Vihar in Delhi.

Pranav Rungta, vice-president at the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), said it was the highest hike in prices in his memory. “There will naturally be inflationary pressures. But prices also tend to be fluid, so let us see how long the hike holds. For us, gas is not that big a component of overall costs to warrant an immediate steep hike for customers, but it will likely have to be increased in the coming weeks,” he added.

“Other raw materials like dairy will also see price rises, so at some point, there will be a ripple effect on commodity prices. It is an unprecedented situation, but at the same time, increasing prices also has its own costs in terms of reprinting menus. We will wait and watch, but it will have an impact for sure,” he added.

Bharat Yadav, president of the Haryana LPG Dealers Association, said he has received at least three calls from customers in Gurgaon since morning asking that their industrial cylinder orders be put on hold. “The industry will not be able to survive. The rumour of a hike was floating yesterday, so many maximised their purchases,” he added.

When the war first broke out in March, several small eateries in the city had said they were being forced to either buy commercial cylinders in black or downsize menus and operational time. This crisis, though, has eased, said restaurant owners.