Barista to open first highway cafe on Mysore road

Barista Coffee Company, which operates the Barista chain of cafes in the country, is planning to open its first highway cafe on the Bangalore-Mysore road.

"The company has identified a place near Channapatna, close to the 'Janapada Loka' on the highway. This will be a 6,000 square feet cafe with a kidsplay area and parking space," said Rini Dutta, Vice-President (marketing and product development), Barista Coffee Company.

"This will be our first highway cafe in the country and we plan to open more such cafes on a few prominent highways in the south, west and northern regions which have dense traffic. Presently, the company is preparing the logistics to serve such highway cafes," she added.

Barista at present has over 174 Espresso Bars and Barista Cremes in over 29 locations in the country. Besides India, the company also operates cafes in Sri Lanka, Oman and the UAE.

The company, having established its presence in major tier I cities, is now eyeing tier II and III cities with a tier I city as hub or base for future expansion.

"In Mysore, we plan to invest Rs 35-50 lakh per store and have rented a house with 1,800 square feet to operate our first cafe. The house classified as heritage building built in 1920 is located near the Mysore Palace. At present the building is being renovated and will open for business in three months," said Dutta.

Talking about the company's non-beverage strategy to boost revenues, Dutta said "We have been adding a new menu each quarter. The idea is to provide a fresh line in sync with consumer trends. The line is developed based on global trends and consumer feedback."

"Since 2006, we have worked on Art of Espresso in December 2006, Sweet Nothings in the spring of 2007, Sandwiches and Tarts during April 2007, Thirst Busters in the current summer offering and now for this winter it is Guilty Pleasures," she added

"By doing this we have seen footfalls rise and share of non-beverage revenues go up steeply every quarter," she further added.

This winter the company has chosen Guilty Pleasures as a theme and has come out with a range of coffee and non-coffee beverages with smoothies and piping steamers. Priced in the range of Rs 49 to Rs 99, the range also includes caffeine-free steamers, flavored teas, freshly brewed natural iced teas, fruit smoothies, ice cream shakes and sundaes.