Status Hospitality Group has launched an innovative drive-in restaurant – Drive & Dine – in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The Group recently transformed two of its unused, lush banquet lawns into a drive-in restaurant, where diners can order food in their car or be seated on picnic tables and chairs. The minds behind Drive & Dine are Yash Malhotra and Insha Malhotra, directors of the group that runs 10 restaurants, four hotels and 16 event spaces. Graduates in hotel management from Cornell University, the duo joined the family business founded by their father, Vikas Malhotra, in 2017.
Keeping up with the norms of social distancing, the hospitality group has converted two of its lush banquet lawns next to its restaurant Dhuaan in the cantonment area of the city into unique drive-in restaurants. Here, diners drive into this innovative restaurant in their car and are welcomed by a kiosk that conducts temperature checks and sanitises their vehicles’ bonnets. A token number and a slot for parking your car is then allotted. Drivers drive ahead and park beside their assigned tables. The area is cordoned off from the rest of the “tables” in the lawn by ropes.
You can choose to sit in your car or soak in the outdoors from the picnic benches placed right beside your car, in a lush green landscape dotted with foliage. Orders are placed digitally via QR codes and a golf cart brings the food you’ve ordered. On the menu are Italian dishes, from pasta to woodfired pizzas, Indian street food like kathi rolls and Chinese delicacies, the choice is diverse.
The space is sanitised with electrostatic guns, and diners are handed a special case to place their face masks when they are not using it. The crockery and cutlery are stored in a UV sterilisation chamber.
Diners are handed a special case to place their face masks when they are not using it. While the space is sanitised with electrostatic guns, the crockery and cutlery are stored in a UV sterilisation chamber.
With alcohol permissions coming through in Uttar Pradesh, they plan to organise “distanced bar nights”. Mixologists will drive around in a cart fixing people a drink by their car. The concept was inspired by Soho House New York’s ‘One While Changing’ concept, where guests have a bartender on call to fix you a cocktail while you slip into your evening attire after work.
A kiosk welcomes you at the entrance with temperature checks, sanitisation of your car’s bonnet, and a token number for a slot to park your vehicle.Drive & Dine is open Monday through Saturday. The lawn that accommodates 10 cars is open from Monday through Wednesday. The one that can fit about 30 more cars is open from Thursday to Saturday.
