Covid grounds Ludhiana eatery ‘Hawai Adda’
LUDHIANA: Covid-19 pandemic can be fatal not only for humans, it can sound the death knell even for the inanimate things. Amid news of businesses wrapping up due to unviable conditions, Ludhiana lost its novel restaurant — Hawai Adda — set up inside an Airbus A320 on Ferozepur Road. After remaining closed for nearly five months, the plane was dismantled late on Monday evening and its parts quietly removed in trucks to a godown on Tuesday morning. The exact reason behind the move couldn’t be established as the owners of the facility were incommunicado.
The restaurant that opened in January 2017 had become a landmark of the city. The only one-of-its-kind eatery in the region, restaurant’s owners had made great efforts to turn the idea into a reality. They procured an Airbus A320 in scrap and converted it into a vegetarian multi-cuisine restaurant in four months.
In the initial months when the restaurant opened, dining there had become a craze as locals would wait in queue for hours for space. It was especially popular among children. Commuters would halt at the spot to take selfies and photographs.
A case regarding the leasedout property between the owners of the restaurant and Milkfed, the state-run cooperative, is also sub-judice in the high court. The lease of the property expired in March 2018 and the owners were demanding extension and Milkfed a hike in rent.
Damanjit Kaur of Nehru Nagar said, “It was always a joyful experience to have dinner there, especially for those who have never been inside a plane. We were planning a dinner at the restaurant with our daughter-in-law, who is from Lucknow; sadly we missed.”
Ludhiana Verka plant general manager Rajkumar said, “The lease period of the property had expired in March 2018 and new tenders were floated. The owners were asked to make a higher bid or vacate the land. But they moved court and the case is pending. We have no idea why the plane has been shifted from the site,” he said.
Owner of Hawai Adda Jaswinder Singh did not respond to calls made by HT.