Success for restaurant as customers put curry on their Christmas lists

THEY didn't make quite as many deliveries as Santa – but an Indian restaurant in Derby that opened on Christmas Day said business was booming.

Curry Art, in Chellaston, delivered Indian cuisine as well as turkey dinners and claimed it was the only takeaway in the city to open on December 25.

And an online pole on the Derby Telegraph's website www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk revealed that more than a third of readers would consider ordering an Indian takeaway on Christmas Day.

Out of almost 1,500 votes cast, 36% of respondents said they would order a curry on Christmas Day, with the remaining 64% saying they would not.

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For Curry Art, in Ridge Way, it was the first time the restaurant had opened on December 25, following requests from its customers.

According to owner Abdul Muhit, the restaurant ended up making "dozens" of deliveries on the big day.

He said: "We had taken a number of advanced orders so we roughly knew how many deliveries we needed to make.

"The busiest time was between 1pm to 3pm, which is not too surprising, I suppose, as this is the time of day most people have their Christmas dinners.

"We had about six staff working on the day – and although they were working they seemed to enjoy themselves, going out to deliver the food to the customers.

"It was an experiment but it seemed to work really well. I reckon we will be looking to do it again next year."

Mr Muhit said that there was a mix of people ordering traditional turkey dinners and Indian dishes.

He said: "I would say that, as a general rule, some of the older people wanted a traditional Christmas dinner and some of the younger ones wanted Indian dishes. We probably did about half and half.

"But what is most important is that since Christmas Day we have received some excellent feedback from the customers about the quality of the food.

"They were also really happy because they did not have to worry about doing any cooking – or the washing up."

Last year, fast food giant McDonald's decided to open its Osmaston Park Road branch on Christmas Day.

This year the chain took the decision not to open any outlets on December 25.