Kolkata: Footfall soared across the city’s bars and restaurants over the weekend, triggered by a massive swell in the puja shopping crowd and the India-Brazil match on Saturday evening. Many reported a sharp surge, which, they believe, will persist over the subsequent weekends leading to Durga Puja in a fortnight.Footfall across restaurants jumped by 25% this weekend and the next three weekends could see a 5%-10% higher attendance compared to the 2025 pre-puja period, said Hotel and Restaurants’ Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) president Sudesh Poddar. “With puja falling on the third week of Oct, the build-up time is longer unlike last year when the puja ended on Oct 2. The weather has improved and the shopping crowds have been getting bigger every weekend, which means the crowd will keep swelling till Dashami,” said Poddar, also the owner of Songhai-Manthan and MS Bar & Lounge.He added that HRAEI members have been asked to be ready for larger crowds with additional arrangements for their patrons.With New Market attracting puja shoppers in greater numbers, this weekend saw many of them streaming into restaurants on Park Street and central Kolkata. Most had a full house since Friday evening. “Despite Oct 2 being a dry day, we had a good crowd. Saturday and Sunday have been exceptionally good, though it’s still early and the festive spirit will truly catch on from Mahalaya (Oct 10),” said Siddharth Kothari of Peter Hu on Free School Street.The sunny weather has contributed a great deal, added Kothari. “Barring a short spell of rain on Sunday afternoon, the weekend was dry and thousands came out to shop,” he said.Additional security guards for the management of crowds at the entrance are being employed by Mocambo and Peter Cat. “This weekend crowd has been exceptionally good and we expect even larger turnouts during the subsequent weekends. We have also employed additional kitchen staff and are taking additional care to ensure hygiene and cleanliness,” said owner Nitin Kothari.Outlets of Oudh 1590 saw a full house through the weekend with a big waiting crowd. “The surge has started and it should continue now,” said owner and co-founder Shiladitya Chaudhury. Chapter 2 on Southern Avenue, too, had a full house for both lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday. Kwality on Park Street saw a crowd surge as well. “We noticed an increase in the number of customers this weekend and it has been good so far,” said Tanvi Ghai of Kwality.
