SURAT: The popularity of roadside food joints
and parlours is growing by every passing day in the city, which had
always been known as a connoisseur of good food. The levy of service tax
on all air-conditioned restaurants is not the sole reason, which some
would though like to believe. Food parlours have caught the eye of major
restaurants too. The reason is limited items and a continuous flow of
customers at gardens and parks.

The food parlours near the
gardens that have been rented out by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC)
have started to generate additional income for the civic body. The
leaseholders had in 2007 paid Rs 1 crore for a five-year contract for
each of the 10×10 food joints at Chowpaty Garden, Senhrashmi Garden and
Kavi Kalapi Garden. Now the contract amount was Rs 3.75 crore for the
same period. Besides these three food parlours, the SMC has some 125 smaller joints at various places in the city.

“Paid parking and food plazas are generating additional revenue for the municipal corporation, no doubt,” said a SMC officer.

“People here don’t look down upon eating at road side eateries.
Government policies are not conducive to running of restaurants. Hence,
food items at restaurants are costlier than food parlours and roadside
eateries,” South Gujarat Hotel Owners Association
president Arun Shetty said. “A well-known restaurant has a food
parlour. Its food parlour at Athwagate does double the business than the
restaurant,” a hotelier said.

Surat city has at about 150 A
grade restaurants and another average rated 500 restaurants. Then there
are more than 10,000 road side eating joints, including food plazas,
food parlours, fast food joints etc.