The coronavirus pandemic has had a great impact on several business. Now, when the country is opening up gradually after 3 months of lockdown, several shops and restaurants are forced to shut due to losses.
Just last week, at least 3 popular stores in Delhi’s Khan Market closed down. One among them was the flagship store of Full Circle and Cafe Turtle, that will shut after 20 years.
The 2-decade-old cafe and bookstore took this decision as they were unable to bear the high store rents and salaries of the employees.
Speaking to HT, Priyanka Malhotra, the owner of the cafe and bookstore, said:
It surely was not an easy decision. It was a legacy and you don’t give that up till things really get difficult. There were several questions that we needed to answer, going ahead how do we maintain social distancing in a bookstore that has a cafe, how do we manage the rent and most importantly how do we ensure that our staff and customers remain safe.
During lockdown, the bookstore owners chose to keep it shut even when the government allowed the opening of book retail shops.
Writing exclusively for Scroll, Priyanka revealed the situation during lockdown. She wrote:
Ours was the only bookstore that decided to remain closed after the government allowed all bookstores to open. It was a personal family decision that was taken keeping in mind the safety and well-being of our staff, their families and our customers.
However, the bookstore has two more branches in Delhi, which will reportedly continue to cater to book lovers in the city.
Feature image source.