The masala dosa tawa at Bengaluru’s iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan is still hot, but only just. Two of the restaurant’s four tawas have been switched off, menus are being trimmed, and kitchens across the country are rationing cooking gas as a sudden disruption in commercial LPG supplies threatens to force restaurants to shut within days.
Commercial LPG supply to restaurants across major cities has ground to a halt after a government order directed oil marketing companies to prioritise domestic households amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Industry representatives said that if supplies are not restored quickly, thousands of kitchens could fall silent across the country.
What did Industry reps say?
Supply has already been disrupted in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Kolkata, while Hyderabad is close to running out, according to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). “Tier-2 and smaller cities still have some supply, but they could also soon run out,” Pranav Rungta, vice president of NRAI, told FE.
In Mumbai, Vijay Shetty, president of the Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (AHAR), said the impact is already visible. About 20–30% of the city’s restaurants have shut operations, he said, warning that 60–70% could be forced to close within two days if supplies are not restored.
What do restaurant and cloud kitchen chains say?
Multiple multi-city restaurant chains and cloud kitchen operators told FE the shortage is most acute in Delhi NCR, which has the highest concentration of restaurants among the cities. In Kerala, the Hotels and Restaurants Association said many establishments have already exhausted their LPG stocks, with several rationing whatever supply remains.
The disruption follows a March 5 order from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas directing oil marketing companies to supply LPG solely to domestic consumers. Suppliers soon indicated they would stop commercial deliveries, the NRAI said, warning the impact on the restaurant sector could be catastrophic.
For individual restaurateurs, the crisis has immediate operational consequences.
Dhruveer Gandhi, a third-generation restaurateur who runs Great Punjab in Mumbai’s Dadar, said his kitchen may run out of gas by Tuesday night. “From Wednesday morning, I will not just struggle to serve customers, I will struggle to feed the 40–50 staff members who live and work with us. For many of them, the restaurant kitchen is their only source of daily meals,” he said.
Restaurants that remain open are attempting to stretch existing stocks by cutting menus and reducing production.
At Vidyarthi Bhavan in Bengaluru’s Basavanagudi neighbourhood, managing partner Arun Adiga said the restaurant has shut two dosa tawas to conserve fuel. “We do around 1,800 to 2,000 dosas a day on a weekday and 3,000 on weekends. Yesterday it has reduced by half,” Adiga said.
Dosa tawas must remain burning throughout service whether or not orders are coming in. “Maximum we can extend to probably a day or two and then if situation does not change we will have to shut,” he said.
Switching to electricity offers little immediate relief. A single induction dosa tawa can consume about 20 kilowatts of power, requiring restaurants to apply for upgraded electricity capacity, a process that involves time and additional capital.
Some operators are attempting temporary workarounds. Abhijit Gupta, co-founder of The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini and Smash Guys, said his outlets have shifted stone ovens to 100% wood-fired operation and moved the central kitchen to diesel-powered rotary ovens. He moved early and has about a week’s supply of LPG, but is preparing to trim gas-intensive dishes.
“The tawas we use for smash burgers are gas-only and have to remain hot through service. If we run out of gas, we literally have to shut as we don’t have an alternative in place,” Gupta said.
Bert Mueller, co-founder of California Burrito, which operates across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi NCR, said the capital region is currently the most vulnerable. “In Delhi NCR, we have only about two days of supply remaining. In cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad, the supply stock extends a few more days,” he said.
Rungta said larger eateries and food courts in malls that rely on piped natural gas, estimated at 20–30% of establishments, are less affected for now. But the window is narrow. “If the situation is not addressed in the next two to three days, you will see restaurants being impacted with partial or full shutdown,” he said.
The supply squeeze has also triggered price spikes. PC Rao, honorary president of the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, said commercial LPG prices have risen by about Rs 295 per cylinder in March alone. One industry executive said prices for 17-kg cylinders sold by private distributors in Bengaluru jumped from around Rs 1,800 on Monday evening to Rs 2,288 by Tuesday morning, an increase of nearly Rs 500 overnight. Rungta said black marketing has surged in several cities but warned even that channel will dry up once supply stops completely.
Sources said that food delivery platforms Swiggy and Eternal have not yet seen a material impact but are monitoring the situation. If restaurant shutdowns escalate, a fall in order volumes is likely, potentially affecting earnings of gig delivery workers.