‘In the food business, every day is a new day’: Five Chennai-based Sangeetha eating places are actually Geetham

“Only the name has changed. Everything else remains the same,” Murali N Bhat stresses repeatedly by means of our dialog. He additionally has boards positioned at vantage factors in his eating places stating the identical. The eating places in query are 5 franchisee shops of well-liked Chennai-based meals chain Sangeetha Veg Restaurant, which have now been rebranded Geetham.

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Over a dry fruit falooda, which the 53-year-old describes among the many restaurant’s best-sellers, Murali who’s Geetham’s managing director, says, “We have a loyal customer base, for whom the ambience and taste will be the same.” The Sangeetha eating places in Navalur, Thoraipakkam, T Nagar, Medavakkam and 100 Feet Road (Velachery) are actually Geetham — they account for about ₹110 crore turnover of the model’s ₹250 crore enterprise. “In the food business, every day is a new day. You cannot have an off day at any point of time, because that means that you have lost an entire family of customers,” says Murali.

So, he’s attempting innovation to broaden his imaginative and prescient. There are going to be 12 extra dosa varieties on supply — together with Mysore masala dosa and paneer masala dosa — within the shops, which at the moment have greater than 400 South Indian, North Indian and Chinese dishes on their 36 web page menu. They are additionally focussing on specialities like honey chilli gobi and paneer roll masala so “there is something for everyone in the family,” says Murali.

Every Friday, as an illustration, there may be  vazhathandu kootu for lunch, a dish that’s not simply obtainable in most eating places. Murali has a tie-up with a farmers collective in Tirunelveli, which packs and provides all of the elements. “When I directly deal with farmers, it’s win-win for both parties. We are also currently sourcing greens from a farmer in Madurantakam.”

Murali says he has been concerned within the enterprise of meals since his second yr of faculty; his father, the truth is, ran a ragi malt manufacturing unit. “I wanted to contest in college elections and needed money for it, and so I got into business,” says Murali, saying he began by promoting merchandise like Mangharam Wafers. Later, in Coimbatore, he was related to J&M Sons Cake Shop, a bakery then well-liked for Japanese muffins and puffs.

His affiliation with Sangeetha Veg Restaurants goes again to 2009, when he established its Velachery outlet. “It has been a great journey,” he says, describing the 14,000-square toes format outlet. “Though the first year was a struggle, we chanced upon a great campaign. During that time T-20 cricket and IPL were catching on like fire. We introduced a Tiffen20 concept in Velachery, a mini-tiffin for just ₹20 that became a huge hit.”

“Vegetarian food has a market throughout the year, every day,” says Murali, including that the job comes with each perks and challenges. “Every five hours, people have to eat something,” so restaurant will at all times draw prospects. But, he provides, “There’s no holiday in the food business.” Especially with 400 gadgets, and increasing menu.