Shezan, which had been my saviour for the last five years (especially when it rained cats and dogs), is now under threat of ditching me. The restaurant, which has stood there for well over a decade, is now in danger of passing into history.

Being not more than just a hop, skip and a jump away, Shezan was a blessing for many of us in desperate times. But, it is the fickle-minded and illogical real estate market that is strangulating it now. Notwithstanding the economic slowdown, the landlord wants the restaurant operator to pay double the rent he is paying now. “Pay up… or vacate” is the ultimatum for him. (The restauranter was a contemporary of mine in college).

Every other day, there are news reports that speaks of rents crashing or correcting. But, the landlord thinks otherwise. He is sure of getting a much better or much bigger tenant. He seems to be preparing for the take-off, of the economy. He wants to keep the space vacant and grab the best deal that will come along.

This is not a one-off case. All landlords seem to be taking this view unless, of course, the tenant is in a position to “arm-twist” the landlord into accepting your arguments.

My friend is in a fix. But, he is not ready to vacate. The landlord is trying to figure out more ways than one to squeeze him out of the building. He has banned parking for the customers of the restaurant.

In fact it has been a double whammy.Takeaways and home deliveries or office deliveries were a major source of income. But, while the number of orders have not fallen much, the average revenue per order has plunged … that is over 50%.

He has had to raise the prices of his dishes. Thanks to the increase in the input costs… not to mention the energy costs. With fewer people visiting the restaurant to spend some ‘quality time’, he is not exactly laughing his way to bank.

But, the real estate fundas, if there exist any, it seems, may drown him sooner or later.

The landlord only needs to look to the left and right of the building to see what is happening. The building to the right of his has two tenants while he had four just a couple of months ago. The much building to the other side was vacated months ago and remains vacant with no signs of a tenant coming.

Meanwhile, I am keeping my fingers crossed about the fate of Shezan. I am too lazy to walk half a km to grab a bite, and that is point.