Copy Link
From petitions to promises to confusion, the 1am deadline for restaurants and nightclubs in Bengaluru has been an ongoing game of tag for a while. But now, citizens as well as the industry can smile a little as the local government made things more official for some of the sub-sections of the F&B sector.
Meghna Vakada, managing partner Barley & Grapes concepts and co-chapter head for NRAI Bangalore, says, “The one important thing that we all need to understand that that CL9 – which is the category for establishments selling bottled beer and hard spirits – has always had the 1am deadline. However, what has now been included in the list are those places that fall under the CL4 (clubs such as Bangalore Club, Catholic Club etc), CL6(A) (starred hotels), CL7 (Hotel and boarding houses that have the minimum 25-room quota) and CL7D (hotels and boarding houses owned by persons under the SC/ST section). These places earlier had an 11.30pm deadline that has now been extended to 1am (with operations beginning from 9am).”
What is however interesting is that microbreweries, which is what pretty much has been dominating the city’s drinking culture of late, and RVB establishments that sell only draught beer have not been yet included. “As part of NRAI’s responsibility towards the industry, we are going to put forth a request to include these two categories in this ruling and are sure to get a positive response. Bengaluru is the craft beer capital of India and given that the authorities have taken a step in the right direction, am sure we’ll get a positive response for the two missed out categories,” she further says.
Vakada also adds how this is a positive move for ease of business over all and is definitely welcomed and in the right direction.
Mukesh Totlani, founder of the Bengaluru-based Toit Brewpub, a microbrewery and restaurant, says that this consolidation of the deadline across categories benefits the city in many ways. “For one, streets are bound to be safer at night with more people out. Secondly, it will generate more employment as restaurants and bars, to accommodate the new timing will have to hire more staff. As long as busy areas have parking provisions etc and traffic is managed well, I don’t see a downside to this announcement. Having said that, they do need to include the microbreweries and draught beer-only places in the list but I don’t think there is a single microbrewery in Bengaluru that doesn’t already have the CL9 licence (which means they also serve other spirits). Given the size of these breweries, it would not make sense to serve just beer anyway.”