Bengaluru pubs remain cautious but hope for the best on New Year eve

The oub owners are praying for the best after a low intensity blast that killed one person on Church Street

When asked what business he expects on December 31, the manager of a pub in Bengaluru's central business district (CBD) looked up to the sky and said: “I am hoping for the best.”

The managers of many other pubs in the city’s CBD, where a bomb blast had claimed the life of a 32-year-old woman on Sunday, answered on similar lines. The woman, Bhavani Devi, from Chennai was on a visit to Bengaluru and was out for dinner with her relatives when the explosion took place.

While the police have beefed up security in the city, many regular pub-goers are yet to gather confidence to visit their favourite watering holes in the area.

“I am yet to finalise my plans for the New Year's eve. I am still looking around,” a customer at a pub told Business Standard, refusing to be identified. He had come to the pub to check if it was fully booked for New Year's eve.

The blast has found resonance in the cash registers in many of the pubs in the CBD area. The Alibi Pub, a couple of hundred metres from Church Street where the blast took place, did not have a single customer when Business Standard visited the place to know what the pub's plans were for the New Year.

"It will be a dry day. Our menu will remain the same. How can we have any celebrations after an incident like that?" said Krishna, the manager of Alibi Pub. “It would be better to stay closed that day,” he added.

The pub sees business of Rs 60,000-80,000 a day on weekdays and about Rs 1.5 lakh on weekends. His hopes for Rs 2-lakh of business on New Year’s eve have been dashed.

The manager of The Biere Club on Vittal Mallya Road in the CBD is hopeful people will turn up. "It's been only two days since the blast took place. So, as of now, it's very difficult to guess what will happen," said Jagat Jivan Mohapatra, manager at The Biere Club.

The club, which has a microbrewery, had seen 350 people last year on the New Year's eve. As of December 30, it had booked tables for about 150 people.

For Social, a pub on Church Street, it was too early to make a call on what would happen. However, at around noon on Tuesday, there seemed to be a fairly good turnout given the time of the day. "They are the regular crowd," said a member of the staff from the pub.

Drinks, a pub on the M G Road, plans to stay shut on New Year's eve. "With all those traffic restrictions in the area, it does not sense to keep it open," said Bheem of Drinks.

As of now, the pubs in the CBD area of Bengalure are praying for the best.