‘New’ German Bakery to open before New Year

“Yes,the countdown has begun. Ideally,we would have loved to open it on Christmas,December 25. But that does not seem possible as only 50 per cent of the work is done,” said 20-year-old Snehal Kharose,who,along with her mother,Smita Kharose,is pushing for early completion of the work.

The family,which owns and runs the bakery,says that they will open the bakery on December 31 or a couple of days earlier. The family is in touch with an astrologer who,they,would suggest a “shubh” (auspicious) day. On December 10,the Kharoses plan a “shanti puja” for early opening of the bakery.

“We can’t announce the exact date. But we are confident of reopening by December 31. If the reopening doesn’t take place a day or two before year ends,we will do it on December 31 morning,” says Snehal,a final year student of arts in a city college. She had to miss her semester exam as she went “all-out” to get the eatery buzzing.

The Kharoses stress it will not be a renovated bakery,but a brand new one. “The bakery was devastated in the blast. We are re-building it from scratch. So it will be a New German Bakery and not a renovated one,” says Snehal.

Snehal says,”We won’t reveal everything now…you will have to await a surprise.” For one,the seating capacity is going up. From 50-60,there will be space for 75. The self-service is being done away. “The waiters have not being appointed yet,but there will be five to six,” Snehal said. There will be a wall hanging which will have pictures of blast victims.

The menu will be the same and the rates. “I used to drink a cup of tea that cost Rs 15. I hope I will get my favourite tea at the same price,” says Rafique Shaikh.

The Kharoses got Rs 14 lakh,as a special case,from the state government to rebuild the bakery. They have taken a bank loan of Rs 30 lakh. “We are paying Rs 43,000 EMI. We can’t afford to keep the bakery closed even for a day,” she says,pointing out that every day she gets enquiries from people wanting to know about its reopening date.