Bar owners suffer loss of 25%, as liquor price hike makes Mumbaikars give bars a skip

An increase in the price of liquor has made Mumbaikars avoid bars, but not stopped them from drinking. Only, the venue has shifted home.

In April, a hike in the cost of sugarcane molasses increased liquor prices by 20 per cent, while in June, Pranab Mukherjee's budget increased VAT on liquor by five per cent and hiked the excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor. This has affected the cost per peg as well as the bottle rate.

Loss for bars

"Now, people prefer to drink at home and we're losing customers," said Shashidhar Shetty, owner of Shree Durga Bhavan Restaurant and Bar at Byculla. Bar owners have suffered a loss of 25 per cent because of this new trend.

Bars have also increased the service charge per drink. "Why pay more at a bar when we can buy our drink at a cheap rate from the wine shop?" asked Vinay Singh (27) a charted accountant.
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Menu rates

Increase in the rate of commodities has added to the woes of restaurateurs. "Our menu rate has gone up due to a hike in the price of pulses," said Narayan Alva, president of Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Rising Prices

Approximate hike per liquor bottle:
180 ml: Rs 10
375 ml: Rs 20
750 ml: Rs 40