U. Bharath (cbedit@imaws.org)
New players venturing into the restaurant industry should work hand-in-hand with the respective district hoteliers’ associations for equitable growth of both established and newer businesses, proposed Ramkee Narayanan, President of the Cuddalore District Hoteliers’ Association (CDHA). He iterated that this measure would help sustain market stability and bring about a level-playing field in food business. “This would also help streamline the operations of the sector in every district.”
In an engaging chat with Kitchen Herald, Ramkee pointed out that most of the new entrants lack either financial heft or professional ingenuity needed to run a restaurant, resulting in the closure of the business within a couple of years. If they work closely with an industry association, they would get professional support, including suggestions for an apt location for their business among other inputs. “Also, this measure will not upset the overall business ecosystem due to unhealthy competition and inadequate revenues,” emphasised Ramkee.
“For example, the owner of a new outlet might hire a chef for a monthly salary of Rs 50,000, which would affect other restaurateurs in town. Therefore, new entrants should work closely with the association concerned to resolve such problems,” suggested Ramkee.
Furthermore, he informed that street vendors are a big threat to Cuddalore restaurateurs. “Food streets should be demarcated in the town to regulate roadside vendors, whose businesses are eating into the revenue of regular restaurants.”
‘Astronomical Taxes lay Eateries to Waste’
Recently, the Cuddalore Municipal Corporation has raised waste taxes exorbitantly following the town’s upgrade from a municipality, alleged Cuddalore restaurateurs. They said that the civic body has levied the tax with retrospective effect, and collected hefty amounts from all the member restaurants. “Restaurateurs within the corporation limits paid up to Rs 1.80 lakh, and the issue didn’t seem to end there,” they complained.
“The corporation has envisaged a plan to collect a waste tax of Rs 500 per day from every restaurant within its limits, which we have strongly objected to. This kind of steep waste tax is implemented nowhere in Tamil Nadu, which would set a wrong precedent for the rest of the state,” said Ramkee.
“As of now, there is no clarity in this matter, even after many representations to the authorities concerned. We have requested the officials to fix a monthly sum of up to Rs 4,000 towards waste tax,” Ramkee informed.
It is pertinent to note that the CDHA has also petitioned the Commissioner of Municipal Administration and subsequently, brought it to the notice of the state government through Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, M.R.K. Panneerselvam, who represents the district. “We are keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that our municipal corporation would reduce the tax burden of restaurant owners with a well-structured and less complex tax regimen,” Ramkee noted.
A Collective Plea to Amp Up Temple Tourism
Many restaurateurs felt that food outlets in the Cuddalore district would get more footfalls, if the state government revamped tourist amenities. As a case in point, they insist that the popular Silver Beach should be upgraded to a ‘Blue Flag Beach’ – an eco-labelled beach meeting top-notch environmental, safety and cleanliness benchmark – in order to attract tourists.
Bemoaning the fact that the tourism potential of the district is untapped when compared to nearby Puducherry, hoteliers here said that “despite two big temples – Paataleeswarar temple in Cuddalore and Devanathaswamy temple in Tiruvanthipuram – religious tourism has not picked up. We have no big events like ‘Girivalam’ in Tiruvannamalai to attract devotees.”
While Pondy’s tourism graph has hit a new high, Cuddalore is lagging in the post-Covid scenario. Our state government should step in and revamp amenities to make the district attractive for tourists, observed the hoteliers.
More Power to Solar in Restaurants
Betting big on solar energy in the restaurant sector, Ramkee said, “Solar power may be optional for restaurant owners currently, but it will become mandatory in the near future. The sooner restaurants convert to solar power, the better. As of now, most restaurants pay hefty power bills of up to Rs 1.5 lakh every month.”
Apparently, the CDHA is working towards securing collateral-free bank loans for its members to install solar units. “Our members should embrace solar power to cut costs and switch to clean energy, especially when India has emerged as the third largest producer of solar and wind energy replacing Germany in 2024,” contended Ramkee.
Employee Welfare to the Fore
At the recently-held Tamil Nadu Hotels Association’s recent Executive Council meeting in Cuddalore, the participants debated and deliberated on issues affecting the restaurant industry.
According to Ramkee, many critical issues, including group insurance and EPF for hotel employees, and pest control awareness measures, were raised during the meeting. “Several stalls of insurance companies were put up to bring about awareness during the meeting, in which all district association members took part,” said Ramkee.
Social Media a Double-edged Sword
While welcoming the role played by social media influencers and food vloggers, Cuddalore restaurateurs felt that social media is a double-edged sword.
“There is no denying that social media influencers help popularise restaurants, but some of them spread calumny by posting defaming reels about our businesses. Even decades-old restaurants get a bad reputation due to this factor,” said Ramkee, adding that such defamation of eateries on social media affects footfalls in the long term.
