It's not a new phenomenon but celebs and actors continue to open restaurants.
A group of college students went to Bandra’s Crepe Station in Mumbai to celebrate the birthday of model-actor Dino Morea. That it was Morea’s own restaurant wasn’t just a pretty coincidence especially as they had hoped to catch him there and wish him. The actor laughs as he remembers, “They chose my restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Pity I wasn’t there. I was at the branch of another Crepe Station.”
Morea, along with his brother Nick, has been in the business of restaurants for the past four-five years. The first outlet at Bandra started with an initial investment of Rs 20 lakh and gradually Morea expanded to include Crepe Station outlets in other parts of Mumbai too. What’s more, he’s already ventured into seven franchisee deals in Kolkata of which two are already operational. That apart, his investment partners (private financiers from Delhi), details of which Morea is unwilling to divulge, are now in the process of chalking out plans that will, within the next two-five years, launch 200-300 Crepe Station kiosks, bars and cafes all over the country.
While Morea firms up details on expansion of his restaurant business, actor Arjun Rampal has also announced his plans to partner with well-known restaurateur AD Singh to launch LAP, a lounge space in
New Delhi’s Hotel Samrat. “It should be up and running within the next four months. We are keeping the product a big surprise and that’s a reason why we are tightlipped about it,” says Singh, who is busy racing through deadlines to launch LAP in time.
But what’s this deal about celebrities venturing into the business of restaurants? It’s not a new phenomenon and by that yardstick, this clearly isn’t a new story, but look around and there will be celebs getting associated with restaurants. There’s Suneil Shetty, not the best actor in B-town, but clearly one with a sharp business acumen who is forever expanding Mischief, his brand of restaurants. Down south, there is Nagarjuna who runs Touch, a fine-dining restaurant that serves modern European cuisine.
There’s also Sushmita Sen, who under her brand Sensazione, has Kobe Sizzlers and Hussh in Kolkata. Why, even actors like Ayesha Takia are now thinking seriously of venturing into this business. That apart, a host of cricketers too have been dishing up exotic fare in the business of restaurants. ZK’s in Pune, for instance, might not see cricketer Zaheer Khan every day but Venkat, captain, ZK’s, says, “There are youngsters who actually come to our place hoping to catch a glimpse of the cricketer.” Khan, because of his professional commitments, according to Venkat, doesn’t come too frequently but manages to attract a lot of clients because of his brand name.
A name as a brand, argues Ramola Bachchan, who started her fine-dining restaurant Manre in June 2008, may attract initial response from consumers but that’s about it. We’re sipping frothy cappuccino in Manre in one of the very roomy cubicles that’s swathed in natural sunlight when Bachchan, dressed in an immaculate black jacket teamed with a pair of well-fitted jeans, an electric blue silk scarf and pearl earrings, admits that being a first-timer in the business of restaurants gave her sleepless nights. Bachchan says she loved entertaining and throwing parties with unequivocal ease in London where she lived for two decades.
India as a business platform was a new experience for her but she says she’s glad to have found a business partner in Kanwar Deep Singh of the Alchemist group who encouraged her to travel all over the world to handpick accessories to suit the mood of the restaurant. So you’ll find large-sized mirrors, crystal chandeliers, artwork procured especially from France and décor from designers like Alex Davis and Raseel Gujral. Serving modern European cuisine, Indo-Arabic cuisine (served in a section where air-conditioned Bedouin-like tents stand) and pan Asian cuisine, Manre, Bachchan says, will gradually also mark a shift in outdoor catering. In fact, the recent launch of the Burberry store at Delhi’s exclusive Emporio mall had its catering done from Manre.
“I have no qualms about entering the kitchen, picking up cigarette stubs but really, being a celebrity isn’t enough to bring consumers; as an owner of the place one has to be actively involved with the product,” says Bachchan. Singh, in fact, says that the Indian consumer is so strong and so aware that simply having a celeb as a face of the restaurant isn’t enough.
Actor Kunickaa Sadanand Lall would know. She, with a business partner, started an Italian fine dining restaurant called White in Mumbai around three years ago but got out of the restaurant business in 2007. “Celebrities tend to become a liability. If the product is successful, then bouquets go to investors, brickbats to celebrities,” she says. As someone who was thoroughly involved in her restaurant’s kitchen, Lall now admits that perhaps she got into the business way too early. “I wasn’t sensible and I now realise my mistakes; for instance, the location of your restaurant matters a lot,” she adds. She hopes to start her brand of spas. Till then, who knows which celeb will launch yet another restaurant venture.
RAMOLA BACHCHAN, MANRE
(New Delhi)
Seared Norwegian Salmon (potato mousseline,asparagus tips, wasabi cream) Rs 1,250
Valrhona chocolate delice (wildberry sauce) Rs 425
DINO MOREA'S CREPE STATION
(Mumbai)
Farm fresh crepe (spinach and cottage cheese served with pesto dip (Rs 170)
Roasted chicken in cranberry apple sauce (Rs 280)
ZAHEER KHAN'S ZK'S
(Pune)
Murgh makhan palakwala (Rs 165)
