South Asian eateries try ‘going local’ as recovery strategy

Hotels and restaurants across South Asia have had to adapt and reimagine dining out since the pandemic ripped through the region, forcing many out of business.

Those that have survived are tapping local sources and going online.

In India, from hole-in-the-wall casual eateries to fine dining, restaurants were devastated by lockdowns and virus outbreaks, with millions losing their jobs since COVID-19 hit in early 2020.

In neighboring Sri Lanka, where the tourism-driven economy also has been hammered by political upheavals and shortages, the situation remains dire.

Saman Nayanananda, a food and beverage manager at a hotel chain in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, says going local for food sourcing and menu offerings is vital.

Nayanananda, who was in New Delhi recently for the South Asian Food for Thought festival, survived a devastating tsunami in 2004 that killed 230,000. He lived through a prolonged civil war that ended in 2009 and witnessed the aftermath of deadly 2019 Easter terrorist attacks. After every calamity, the economy managed to get back on its feet.

The struggle to recover for the nation of 22 million is infinitely tougher given Sri Lanka's troubles with debt, fuel and food shortages, said the 50-year-old hospitality industry veteran.

"We had lot of challenges, including raw materials and the transport problems. A year after COVID, all hotels started food delivery. We were slowly recovering and then this economic crisis came. We ran out of both imported and local materials.

Again back to zero," said Nayanananda, who lost his job at a tourist resort in 2020 as everything shut down.

"We recovered from terrorism, from the tsunami, but this crisis, it has broken the middle class," he said. With...