Indian restaurant owners in Sunderland concerned for future over new mixing of households restrictions

Perhaps more so than other businesses, Indian restaurants are mostly popular with groups of friends going out for a curry, and are less reliant on trade from couples and families.

It means that the city’s curry houses have been hit especially hard by the new restrictions imposed earlier this week, meaning it is now illegal for households to mix in any indoor setting in the North East.

Monie Hussain is owner of one of Sunderland’s most popular restaurants, Yuvraaj in Douro Terrace, Ashbrooke.

Like all restaurants, it was closed for 14 weeks due to lockdown, and trade has been good since reopening on July 4.

But the businessman, whose restaurant has racked up many awards over the years, says this new ruling over the mixing of households has had the most devastating impact.

“90% of our trade is from our regulars,” he explained. “Up until now we had been doing well since reopening on July 4 and we’ve had a lot of support from our customers. You rely on a few big tables each night to make up your numbers and even with the rule of six, it was feasible.

"But this new restriction has had the biggest impact. As soon as it was announced, we had lots of cancellations because so many people were coming with their friends, especially on a weekend, and they just can’t do that anymore.”

He added: “Christmas is usually our busiest time of year, and group bookings usually start from the end of October, so I’m really worried.”

Khaled Miah operates a number of businesses in the city with his family, including Goa in Seaburn, Mumbai Silk in Ashbrooke and Delhi Emperor in Barnes.

He has decades of experience in the industry, but says he’s very concerned for the future.

"It has been very quiet across all the businesses due to the restrictions and I don’t know how we will survive if it continues,” he said. “The rule of six was ok because people could still come with their friends, but we had lots of cancellations as soon as the tighter restrictions were announced. I’ve spoken to other members of the community and everyone is worried, but there is nothing we can do.

"All we can do is ask the curry lovers of Sunderland to support their local curry houses, even if that’s by buying a take away. If they want to dine in the restaurants, we’ve done everything we can to keep them safe with social distancing measures.”

Speaking about the uncertain future, he said: “If this continues in the long term, I think half of all restaurants will close and in the next few weeks staff will have to be let go, which nobody wants to do.”

This will be the first weekend in the city under the new tightened restrictions about the mixing of households, which was previously guidance under local lockdown measures.

Following this week’s latest announcement, some city pubs, including Ttonic, Glitterball and The Point announced a temporary closure because it isn’t feasible to operate within the new laws.

See how other Sunderland restaurants have responded to the restrictions here.

See Sunderland’s top 10 Indian restaurants here.

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