PETALING JAYA: Mamak restaurants and bistros are cashing in as the FIFA World Cup 2022 enters its final stages, with many reporting roaring business during the late hours.
At the same time, some outlets are opting to keep their feet on the ground by retaining a more family-oriented approach.
Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar managing director Burhan Mohamed said several of his 24-hour outlets were screening live World Cup matches.
“The crowd that we get stay on until the matches finish,” he said yesterday.
He said customers opted to come in when matches start and then leave at the final whistle as they enjoyed the various fare such as mee goreng, murtabak, roti canai, thosai and of course teh tarik.
Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) secretary-general Habebur Rahman Shahul Hameed of Jati Nasi Kandar in Kelana Jaya also said that business during the World Cup season has been good with more people coming to the restaurant to watch the matches.
“The response has been good because whenever there are matches, people do come. We stopped screening for a while but there was a demand from customers for the World Cup. As such we decided to bring back the television.
“Despite having a shortage of staff, we are able to manage the situation and crowd with rotation schedules,” he said.
Although the response has been good from customers watching the World Cup at the E & Y Sahul Restaurant in Johor Baru, owner Sahul Hameed Yacoob said sometimes the unpredictable weather gets in the way.
“We do get quite a bit of crowd who want to watch the matches but many prefer to sit outdoors to watch them. But the weather sometimes does not permit them to enjoy the game outside.
“The ambiance is usually lively when the matches are on, and we try to accommodate as many as we can,” he said.
Fatimah Ghous, a director who owns three restaurants in Ampang, has decided not to showcase the World Cup despite the demand.
This, she said, was because it became too noisy for other customers and the neighbours in the area.
“Our shops are not in the city but we are located in the suburbs. So, we focus on our customers who mostly come with their families.
“We are operating 24 hours but we want to be sensitive and considerate to our customers and surroundings because the crowd can get riled up during the matches.”
Similarly, Q Bistro is not showing any matches because they want their restaurants to be a family joint, says chief executive officer Riyasutin Mohamed Dulkif.
“There were some requests but we want our restaurants to be places for families. If we have the football crowd, it tends to get noisy and customers hog the seats.
“This will not be practical as we want people to enjoy their experience at our restaurants and we don’t want to keep customers waiting,” he said.