Restaurants have to down their shutters by 10pm now. The Unlock III guidelines issued by the Centre on Wednesday have done away with night curfew, holding out hope that the deadline for restaurants could be extended.

But there is little cheer in Calcutta’s celebrated food corridors. As Covid figures rise, the number of people stepping out to eat, especially after dark, has dropped dramatically.

Park Street was deserted around 7pm on Thursday. The liveried gatekeepers looked on expectantly at every passing car.

Several restaurant owners said there was little reason for them to extend the timings. If people don’t turn up between noon and 10pm, it is unlikely they will come after that, the owners said.

Restaurants had resumed business with a “lot of hope” in the second phase of unlock. Even with a bar on serving liquor on the premises, at least some of the traditional favourites were busy during lunch.

The “abysmal drop in numbers” started in the second week of July when Covid-19 cases saw a sharp spike, the owners said.

“We see two to three tables occupied in the whole day. It is unlikely that people will come in good numbers after 10pm,” Debraj Bose, who owns the Park Street franchise of Pa Pa Ya, said. “We will not extend the closure time immediately even if the night curbs are lifted in the state. We will see how it goes.”

Restaurants on Park Street used to remain open till midnight before the pandemic. Even on weekdays, finding a parking slot after 8pm was tough. Now, it is tough to find tables occupied in restaurants, no matter what time of the day.

Things may improve if the bar on serving alcohol is lifted, owners said.

Peter Cat on Thursday evening.

“We sincerely hope the Centre allows us to serve liquor. If need be, we will keep the bar shut and serve liquor on the table after following distancing rules,” Pratap Daryanani, the owner of Oasis, said.

Extending the timing without lifting the ban on alcohol makes little sense, he said.

Owners of popular restaurants that did not serve alcohol even before the pandemic said footfall had dropped sharply in the past fortnight.

“Things were looking slightly better in late June. But for the past 10 days or so, the numbers have dropped sharply,” Kabir Azhar of the Aminia chain of restaurants said.

The chain’s marquee outlet in New Market sees some footfall, mostly for lunch. But eight other outlets across the city have been sustaining on deliveries, he said. “In residential places like Golpark and Behala, there is hardly any visitor after 8pm.”

His outlets will a not have extended timings right now even if the government allows it, Azhar said.

The state government issued a notification on Thursday on restrictions and relaxations to be followed in the state as part of Unlock-III. There is no mention of the night curfew, though, in the notification.

Nitin Kothari, who owns Mocambo and Peter Cat, said if allowed, he was willing to extend his timings by an hour at the most.

“Footfall has gone south in the past 10-15 days. Lifting of night curfew does not mean people will come pouring in,” Kothari said.

Trincas on Park Street had opened for diners for a couple of weeks in June before going the “delivery-only” way. “We want to open but with prudence and caution. We have been doing deliveries all over the city,” Anand Puri, the owner, said.