V. M. Hospitality, a hospitality chain with five restaurant brands under its umbrella, is all set to open Batlivala & Khanabhoy (B&K), a Parsi restaurant and cafe at Redfields in Coimbatore. The restaurant is scheduled to open on January 14.
This would be the second Parsi outlet for VM Hospitality, next only to the Chennai outlet, which became operational six months back.
The hospitality chain, an idea conceived by Vikram Mohan, who incidentally is the managing director of Coimbatore-headquartered auto components major – Pricol, is only into small format, speciality cuisines, says Uday Balaji, Chief Executive, VM Hospitality.
Having established Savya Rasa, which offers fine-dining South Indian cuisine, the Parsi joint – B&K, Ethiopian cuisine – Abyssinian, the Marathi restaurant – Meena Tai and trendy cafe Double Roti, VM is now looking to expand its footprint.
The hospitality chain is looking to open 30 restaurants in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Sri Lanka, among other places, in a span of three years.
The promoters seem not to have identified the places yet, but Balaji maintained that they are looking at multiple cities to expand their footprint.
On bringing B&K to Coimbatore, he said “there is hardly any exclusive Parsi eat-out here. It is a fun brand, may sound exotic too, but the cuisine comprises a medley of dishes that are as rich as the culture itself. We are aiming to capture this quirky Parsi energy while incorporating drink (Batli-Vala) and food (Khana- Bhoy).”
“There are avid food enthusiasts here, but the city had limited speciality cuisine restaurants”.
The investment in the venture is roughly around Rs 12 crore, Balaji said.
Besides speciality cuisine, VM Hospitality is also looking to promote resorts. The duo plans to set up five resorts in three years, with just six to 12 experiential non-hotel rooms in each of these.
A beginning has been made with the establishment of ‘Dvara Siruvani’ at the foothills of the Western Ghats near Coimbatore