A inside view of a Haidilao chain restaurant in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday Chen Xia/GT

The hotly anticipated dining-in service at 85 hot pot branches of Haidilao restaurant resumed on Thursday. As more chain restaurants approve dine-in, the catering industry is rapidly recovering after a 50-day long fight against the coronavirus.

Among the reopened Haidilao restaurants in 15 cities such as Nanjing and Chengdu, customers must now sit at a table that does not adjoin another occupied table, and less than half of the seats at any table may be occupied, Haidilao told the Global Times on Thursday.

An employee at Haidilao in Chengdu said the restaurant is full at around 6 pm and opening hours are from 10 am to 10 pm.

More and more restaurants resumed dining-in service in March. Chain restaurant Xibei Youmiancun announced on Monday that 156 branches, out of a total of 376, are now back to business.

The trend has cheered up many consumers.  "I really wanted to eat Xiabu Xiabu hot pot last week and missed its smell, but the restaurant in Haidian district closed too early at 7 pm," Li told the Global Times. 

Resumption of the catering industry is a significant sign of catering business revival. But the sector provides face-to-face service and may cause crowds, and restaurants have been on higher alert. Temperature check of all customers is a must. 

"Consumption recovery is obvious for the catering industry… and pent-up consumption will first appear in the industry once the virus is fully controlled," Qin Chao, CEO of professional catering media China Restaurants Insider, told the Global Times.

According to Beijing Duolaidian Information Technology Co, a catering industry information provider, the number of restaurants having resume business grew 2.94 percent each day, but it is down some 45 percent if compared to last year's level.

Nanjing city in Jiangsu Province even issued an official document to encourage local officials to consume in order to promote local economy.

"We encourage officials at all levels to take the lead to consume in the catering industry," the document said, adding that consumption at restaurants and stores should be above 100 yuan ($14.3) per person a week. 

The revenue of the catering sector accounts for 10 to 11 percent of total retail , said Zhao Jingqiao, director of the Service Economy and Catering Industry Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noting food consumption will rebound in the second half of the year.