Rents down,new restaurants to test NCR’s taste

While upscale South Delhi properties,like those in Khan Market,have lowered rentals by Rs 2 lakh,Mohindra says some properties in Gurgaon have slashed rentals from Rs 120 per square feet to Rs 80 per square feet. “In Noida’s Sector 18,the rates are down by nearly 60 per cent,” he says.

For UK-based chef Chetan Malik,the time was right to move base here. Early this year,Malik set up a trendy eatery called Café Style in Noida’s Sector 18. “The correction in rentals was encouraging and rates of other raw materials,such as steel and kitchen equipment,have also lowered,” he says. “It reduces the overhead costs and we can now mobilise capital into experimenting with newer concepts.”

Done up in trendy interiors,Café Style focuses on attracting the youth and rolls out a variety of shakes and quick meals at pocket-friendly rates.

For Atul Kakkar,who will soon open a Polynesian-themed resto-bar in Gurgaon,it’s the best time to get some visibility. “The market scenario is gloomy and people are desperately looking out for newer ventures and experimental concepts,” Kakkar says. The 6,000-square-foot restaurant,he says,will focus on a “variety of new cocktails paired with a global menu.”

Kakkar says the correction in rentals has brought the project cost down: “I know a lot of restaurateurs already running eateries are re-negotiating rates.”

Also,a lot of restaurants that did not fare well in the past few years are up for sale. Food consultants agree that it is the best time to pick up restaurants already operational,especially those with a liquor license. Mohindra is currently working on one such deal with a South Delhi restaurant. “It would be an Indian-specialty diner with a Degustation menu and wine pairings,” he says,“and I am doing it for a first-timer.”

Malls,too,have lowered rentals by as much as 50 per cent. With falling numbers and the real estate market in a slump,mall owners are working out on percentage deals with restaurateurs. “Some malls in East and West Delhi have been hit big time by the recession,” Mohindra says. “Some have even asked restaurateurs to just pay them a percentage of their sales instead of regular rentals.”

Even builders of some new projects in Gurgaon are offering such deals,says restaurateur Sohrab Sitaram. “It is very encouraging for restaurateurs like us,” says Sitaram,owner of Tabula Rasa and Chi Kitchen and Bar in Saket. “I am looking out for a property in Gurgaon and will develop a new concept restaurant there — probably with a wine bar.”

Some Delhi restaurateurs are even looking southward to get a good deal. “I am looking at options in Bangalore and Chennai to branch out the Yum Yum Tree since rentals are very economical there,” says Varun Tuli,owner of the Chinese-specialty diner in New Friend’s Colony.