Lahore restaurant body seeks extension in dine-in hours

LAHORE: The president of the Restaurants, Caterers, Sweets and Bakers Association, Muhammad Farooq Chaudhry, has urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to allow restaurants to keep dine-in service open until midnight during the summer season.

Chaudhry said the request was being made under the principle of let business run, let the stove burn, adding that a later closing time would make it easier for the public and help reduce financial pressure on the food service sector.

He said Maghrib prayers in summer are held at about 7:30pm, after which families usually leave their homes around 8pm and reach restaurants at roughly 8:30pm. Under the existing policy, he said, dine-in operations must end at 10pm, while fresh entry is stopped at around 9:15pm, which causes inconvenience for customers and hurts business activity.

Chaudhry said the restaurant, hotel, catering, sweets and bakery sectors were facing severe financial strain despite being a major source of jobs for millions of people and an important contributor to government tax revenues. He added that thousands of workers, including waiters, kitchen staff, helpers, security guards and sanitation workers, rely on the industry for their livelihoods.