Chandigarh
24 July 2020
DIVYA AZAD
The Tri-City’s most popular shopping destination, Elante Mall, reopened its doors to the public on June 8 as a part of Unlock 1.0. Since reopening, the much-awaited dining options at Elante are also over 90% operational and are already reporting good numbers even with the social distancing norms in place. Chandigarh’s favourite restaurants like Pirate of Grills, Chili’s, Nando’s and several others are now operational.
Elante was recently declared ‘Safe and Secure’ by Bureau Veritas, one of the most prestigious certification organizations in the world which ensure optimum standards of health and safety recommendations of the WHO / local authorities are implemented without any deviations. In India, Elante becomes the first to ensure a third-party reassurance from Global testing, inspection, and certification body with over 190 years of experience.
Speaking about over 90% of dining options which are now open at Elante, Mr. Anil Malhotra, Executive Director, Hospitality & Corporate Affairs said, “It has been over six weeks since we reopened the doors to our patrons in Unlock 1.0. In light of the effective measures which have catalysed the confidence building in our patrons, we have seen around 18% growth in footfalls week-on-week. We have measures in place which can help us keep a track of footfalls on a real-time basis, to ensure the mall is not overcrowded and regardless, all MHA guidelines are being adhered to. Our conversions are over 90% since reopening, most of the customers who are visiting the mall are walking out with shopping bags and reassurance of being safe. The guests are being cautiously optimistic since Unlock 1.0, we have seen an encouraging week on week increase in our sales numbers which is a good start. With festivities around the corner, we are expecting the bonhomie to be more and with this fight, together as a family we can unite and welcome the good times.”
With over 90% of the restaurants now open, people have started to revisit these popular restaurants at Elante and they have started seeing good conversions.
Atinder Singh, Restaurant General Manager at Nando’s highlighted, “We are delighted to partner with Elante, they have implemented some of the best sanitisation practices across the mall. This has not just helped bring back a lot of people to the mall, but we can also serve the customers their favourite cuisines since reopening. There is no denial from the fact that people will continue to turn towards food experiences as a means of comfort and sustenance in an otherwise uncertain world”
“Since reopening, we have seen seen a surge in the footfalls and we are also doing over 20% week on week growth in sales at our outlet. People are visiting with their family and friends. We have got immense appreciation from our customers in terms of the SOPs being followed at Elante and at our outlet.” said Ajay Kumar Nautiyal, Business Manager at Pirate of Grills.
Shyam Mandal, General Manager at Chili’s said “Our customers are continuing to shower their love for our food and are coming to us as they used to come earlier. We are customising our dishes to suit to our patron’s preferences more than ever. We are also ensuring minimal contact for preparation from when it leaves the kitchen, until it reaches a table. Our kitchen is optimised to offer our entire menu for our patrons. Along with this, the sitting arrangement has been minimised to maintain proper social distancing at our restaurant and all other WHO safety guidelines are followed religiously. The consistent growth in sales, speaks volumes of their trust in our offering.”
The experience of going to malls and shopping may have changed drastically in recent times and that can be evidently seen in the way people are being cautious when they move out of their homes. With Social Distancing becoming a way of life, the crowd in the mall can be seen responsibly adhering to the rules and regulations for a hygienic and safe environment. Elante is also ensuring that the disinfection and sanitization procedures are regularly done in the common areas, at customer walk in’s, the car parking facilities, restaurants, and retail spaces so that customers have an enriching and safe experience.
