Mumbai’s first restaurant on wheels and even the first 24x7 restaurant set-up at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) has completed a fortnight.
The Central Railway (CR) authorities claim that the response from patrons ‘could be better' and so they are working towards making this a part of ‘Mumbai Darshan’ and tourist buses that are operated by the government as well as private tour and travel entities.
A CR official on the condition of anonymity said, "We are working out the possibility of making this part of ‘tourist visits’ now that the state government has slowly resumed tourism as well. Diwali is a good example where private bus operators have got business."
The official added, "We are approaching the government and private bus operators who are part of Mumbai darshan so that after showcasing the CSMT world heritage building, patrons can be brought here for lunch."
If this happens then on a daily average, at least 5-7 buses filled with domestic and some international tourists will come to this restaurant. To generate earnings, the bosses at Central Railway have told their employees to pay for the food and drinks that they order from Bogie Wogie --- the restaurant on wheels.
According to sources in the railways, patrons are approaching this ‘restaurant on wheels’ though the foot fall can be further augmented. There are close to100-120 odd patrons who visit this restaurant on wheels every day on an average generating business of Rs 25,000-30,000 or so on an average.
However, as per their calculations, this restaurant needs to make at least Rs 50,000 per day to recover the costs, paying license fees to CR, and then generate profits from it. The restaurant operator is paying an annual license fee of Rs 42 lakh to the CR authorities which comes to nearly Rs 12000 per day.
The restaurant on wheels has got permission to remain open all 24 hours and 7 days a week. However, due to the ongoing festival of Diwali, the staff are not available and it will take a couple of days more for it to run the whole day and night. The caterers have also tied up with App-based food delivery services. This will enable people to order food any time of the day or night while other restaurants in the city remain closed.
The 13-page menu card features both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes with a variety of cuisines right from North Indian, South Indian, Chinese, Continental, Desserts, etc. There is an array of food available despite a smaller kitchen. There is also a mini cafe for people who would prefer takeaway.
This 40-seater restaurant Bogie Wogie Restaurant on Wheels is a yellow-coloured coach with a tinge of black, glimmered under the spotlights. It faces the Heritage Gully on one side and platform 18 on the other side. The CR authorities are thinking of providing space for such restaurants on wheels at other locations like Kurla LTT, Neral, Igatpuri, Lonavala, and Kalyan.
