Oberoi, Fun Republic and Growel's 101 close gates as per regular schedule; moviegoers form the only late-night crowd
Sanjay Pathak, wife Prita and daughter Reya expected to have dinner at McDonald's at Fun Republic but found it closed. Pic/Nimesh Dave
In the city's western suburbs, a visit by mid-day revealed that malls like Fun Republic in Andheri West, Oberoi in Goregaon East, and Growel's 101 in Kandivli remained closed on the weeknight of January 27-28.
mid-day's visit started at 2 am at the Fun Republic where two police constables were on night duty as usual. The mall and the shops inside remained closed. The only people found were the ones returning home after the last movie show.
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Yari Road resident Sanjay Pathak, 37, his wife Prita, and four-year-old daughter Reya got out of the theatre and wished to go to the McDonald's located on the mall's ground floor.
Varun Nair, who went to Oberoi mall for food, but found it closed
"We knew that restaurants and malls were supposed to be open after midnight from today so we thought we'd have dinner outside. But everything was closed. The McDonald's staff told us that they had not been directed by their superiors to stay open round the clock. We will just prepare dinner at home now," said Sanjay.
Next was Oberoi Mall, where at 2.30 am, its main gate was found closed.
Security guards did not allow mid-day to enter. A 17-year-old resident of Oberoi Exquisite, Varun Nair, had come to the mall in search of food. "I just came to check if any restaurants are open. But the mall is shut. I did not get entry," Nair said.
Growel's 101 in Kandivli East too was closed at 3 am. It remained open till late at night over the weekend for a trial, only to witness 200 visitors, most of them being moviegoers. Vaibhav Khorgade, 22, who had come looking for burgers and pizza was spotted outside the mall on Monday-Tuesday night.
"I came from Borivli after completing my late shift. Since everything is closed, I am going back home," Khorgade told mid-day.
Sachin Dhanawade, Chief Operation Officer (COO), Retail and Real Estate, Grauer & Weil (India) which operates Growel's 101, told mid-day, "Shopping and eating out beyond midnight is a behavioural change, which we feel will take time to seep into the consumers' mindset. Growel's 1O1 will be open for extended hours on a trial basis during the weekends on Friday and Saturday only."
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