Pâtissier Pooja Dhingra shuts Le 15 cafe due to COVID-19, friend Sonam Kapoor reacts

The impact of Coronavirus on the hospitality industry is not hidden and the recent business to shut their cafe is Le 15, Colaba, in Mumbai owned by pastry chef Pooja Dhingra. The baker took to her Instagram handle to reveal that she has to close her shop after successfully running it for a decade. 

She wrote, "April was anything but easy. I’ve had to make some tough (and heartbreaking) decisions this past month. Thank you for giving our baby so much love." Dhingra's best friend Sonam Kapoor took to her Instagram handle to send love as she is currently in Delhi and wrote that 'it will only get better from here'. Parineeti Chopra called Dhingra a 'soldier' and sent hugs in the comments section.

Radhika Apte, Anshula Kapoor, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Sophie Chaudhary, and many other celebrities dropped comments on her Instagram handle. Sophie wrote, "Sending you the biggest hug pooj...Letting go of something you love is the hardest but there are bigger and better things in store for you and all of us, your fans and friends, will be right there rooting for you!" [sic]

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Coronavirus has impacted food service business: NRAI

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Thursday said there has been definite impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the overall food service business, with various segments being impacted in varying degrees.

In-restaurant dining is seeing a big impact in the past few days, reporting an approximate business drop of 30-35 per cent, with the restaurants located within mall premises recording a sharper drop, it added. The delivery segment, so far, is seeing the least impact, the statement said.

"The food service industry works on a fairly high proportion of fixed operating costs and, therefore, such sharp drop in revenues in going to cause severe losses for the businesses. If the situation doesn''t improve immediately, we reckon that this will lead to business shutdown and job losses within the sector," it said. 

(With PTI inputs)