Bars that brought CP back to nightlife face closure

NEWDELHI: It was a dream come true for Ashish Ahuja, when in 2014, he opened Pebble Street, a restro-bar, in Connaught Place. But last month, he shut down the outlet. “With high rents and the current restrictions on operations due to the Covid pandemic, it became unsustainable to run the establishment...”

About a dozen restaurants, bars and cafes have exited CP and industry insiders say 50 others are on the verge of shut down because of high rents, new guidelines of reduced operating hours and ban on serving alcohol.

Many believe so many restro-bars going bust is bad news for CP, which has undergone a great revival in the past few years. CP had fallen out of favour with Delhiites by the late 1990s, what with the chaos caused by Metro construction. Things began to look up after the Metro started operations in 2005, and by 2016, Connaught Place was once again the city’s centre of gravity. Many believe its new cafes, restaurants, and bars played a key role in reviving CP and transforming Delhi’s image from a staid capital city to one with a happening nightlife.

Priyank Sukhija, who owns seven restro-bars in CP, says, “Closure of the restro-bars in CP will not only rob the city of its nightlife, but also thousands of jobs.”

Experts feel that the cororonavirus pandemic is going to bring about a ‘churn’ in CP. “Many of the fashion stores will move out... there could be many electronic stores...,” says Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock.

Ahuja of Pebble Street, though, sounds a warning. “Everyone... needs to understand that it is restro-bars, and not retail that revived CP, and without them CP will once again lose its mojo.”

› With high rents and the restrictions on operations due to the Covid pandemic, it became unsustainable to run the establishment; besides, I did not see things improving in the next few months

ASHISH AHUJA, owner, Pebble Street