Late Knights Forever

Night Riders

• Latenight, Bangalore: Delivers Chinese and north Indian food, b’day cakes, OTC drugs, sanitary napkins, condoms
• Fly by Knight, Mumbai: Continental cuisine, quick bites, contraceptives, chocolates, first-aid kits
• Batman Delivers, Gurgaon: Cigarettes, baby diapers, baby food, shaving kits, stationery kits, birthday balloons, banners, cakes, flowers, services of electricians, drivers, guards and plumbers

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It’s long past Cinderella hour. IT professional Rohit is up working at home in Gurgaon, eerie silence for company, and a deadline to be met. He hasn’t looked at the clock in a long time, but when he does, it shows 3 am. The cigarettes have long been exhausted, a foray to the refrigerator throws up nothing much by way of a long-past-the-midnight snack, and he is decidedly hungry now. Neighbourhood eateries? Closed. 24x7 chemist store? Too far for comfort. Any hope? Yes. Courtesy an all-purpose late-night delivery service just round the bend. One call and Rohit gets to eat freshly cooked food.

Twilight-dawn delivery services have made unearthly hours less of a nightmare. Be it professionals working the graveyard shift, students cramming for exams or party revellers, it’s not a lonely planet anymore by night. Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Pune now have night stores to take care of all your needs—from stationery kits, toiletries, cigarettes, contraceptives, sanitary napkins, bir­thday banners, cakes and flowers to freshly cooked, warm meals.

Batman Delivers, Captain Grub, Latenight, Munchbox, The Night Shift, The Booty Call and Night Dragon are some of the names that are picking up business in the niche sector. Raghav Negi of Batman Delivers says, “This business model is fuller as we like to deliver convenience and value at night. We want to be a nocturnal supermarket because lifestyles have changed and people want to stay up till very late.”

Batman Delivers started in Gurgaon in 2013 and has now expanded services to offer guards, plumbers, electricians and drivers at night. Abhishek Bansal started Fly by Knight in Mumbai because Maximum City comes alive only at night and he wanted to start an organised service offering an all-inclusive package. “We offer continental food and quick bites from 9 pm to 5 am,” he says. “And essentials like contraceptives, first-aid kits, sanitary napkins and condoms are really popular among youngsters.”

Captain Grub in Delhi has an expansive menu to satisfy any hunger craving in the night—Chicago beef sandwiches, Penne Arabiatta, Jalapeno Cheese Steak and thick shakes. The food arrives nicely packaged, warm and wholesome, a sure godsend in wee hours. Ashwin of Captain Grub, which started just a couple of months ago in Delhi and Gurgaon, says, “The whole idea of late-night dining has changed. People no longer want to settle for run-of-the-mill stuff and are extrem­ely conscious about quality.”

Most such delivery services also have a no-doorbell policy so that they don’t end up waking the neighbours. “We looked at the legalities of such a facility and realised that home delivery is all about crunching time and making things convenient for customers at night,” says Shalin Mishra of Latenight, Bangalore. “We cater mainly to South Ban­galore, but are now pla­nning to open up delivery hubs in other parts of the city too. It’s cost-effective and a great business model bec­a­use we operate from modest kit­chens, and can thus concentrate on packaging, service and quality.”

Late nights promise not to be the same in Pune either, with stores like CraveU exploring options. “In Pune, there are very few medical stores that stay open 24 hours. There’s a huge IT crowd working night shifts and people are heavily into gaming. So, late-night services are really the need of the hour,” says Sagar, manager at CraveU. They plan to start with two kitchens, cover a wide arc and arrange for a local pick-up option. Delivery would be across various categories, including food, beverages, antacids, painkillers, condoms and cigarettes.

Goodbye then it is to unsatisfied midnight cravings. More reason to stay awake too. Have an unmet need, dial a night store, and voila, deliverance will be just a doorbell away.