Baba Ka Dhaba owner Kanta Prasad, who became famous overnight after his video went viral on social media, has closed his new restaurant after heavy losses. After six months of fame, the old couple is back to their roadside eatery in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar, desperately waiting for customers.
Baba Ka Dhaba became famous overnight
Last year, YouTuber Gaurav Wasan had shared a video of Kanta Prasad, owner of Baba Ka Dhaba and his wife Badaami Devi struggling to make ends meet in their roadside eatery. After the video went viral, their luck changed as they became famous overnight. The viral video led to thousands of people making huge lines outside the eatery to buy their food. Apart from this, a large number of people also came forward to help him.
Baba Ka Dhaba duo opened new restaurant
After getting financial help, Kanta Prasad closed the Dhaba and opened a restaurant in Delhi's Malviya Nagar. Baba had hired a cook and a waiter in the new restaurant. CCTV cameras were also installed in the restaurant for security.
Restaurant closed after heavy loss
As per a Hindustan Times report, the new restaurant of Baba Ka Dhaba owner Kanta Prasad shut down in February after heavy losses. Kanta Prasad had spent about Rs 5 lakh to open the restaurant. While the monthly expenditure of the restaurant was around Rs 1 lakh, the average monthly sales never exceeded Rs 40,000.
The expenses of Kanta Prasad included Rs 35,000 for restaurant rent, Rs 36,000 for salary of three employees and Rs 15,000 for ration, electricity and water. Gradually, the number of customers going to the restaurant decreased and the cost of the restaurant started increasing. After this, Kanta Prasad Baba had to close his restaurant.
Crowd disappeared from Baba Ka Dhaba
After closing the restaurant, Kanta Prasad has once again returned to the same place where he used to run the Dhaba earlier. Last year, after the video went viral, there was a 10-fold jump in the sales of Baba ka Dhaba and people used to stand in line to eat food at the Dhaba. But now, there has been a huge decline and their earnings have also reduced considerably.
"The daily footfalls at our Dhaba have declined because of the ongoing Covid lockdown, and our daily sales have come down from Rs 3,500 before the lockdown to Rs 1,000 now. The income is not sufficient for our family of eight," Hindustan Times quoted Kanta Prasad as saying.
Cheating complaint against YouTuber
Prasad had filed a cheating complaint against YouTuber Gaurav Wasan for allegedly misappropriating the donation he had received in his bank account. He had claimed that Wasan had intentionally shared only his and his family/friends bank account details and mobile numbers with the donors in order to receive money through different mode of payments.