Mocha plans to open outlet in Hyd soon

Coffee shops like Qwiky's and Cafe Coffee Day in the city, now have more competition coming their way as Mumbai's coffee bar - Mocha Coffees and Conversations, will be shortly opening an outlet in the city.

Speaking to Business Standard, Riyaaz Amlani, chief executive officer and managing director of Mocha, said: "We will be opening a franchisee outlet in Hyderabad in late February, preceded by one at Ahmedabad."

At present, there are four Mocha bars in Mumbai and two in Delhi. "We are targeting to have around 65 Mocha outlets in the country in the next two years with plans of going global later," he added.

"Each coffee bar requires an investment of around Rs 60 lakh," Amlani said. "The one at Hyderabad will involve a similar investment and will run into an area of 6,000 sq ft," he added.

"Around 70 people, ranging from outlet manager to coffee specialists, will be employed at the outlet," Amlani said, adding, "We will be able to accommodate around 110 people at the outlet at a time," he added.

The reason for Mocha's success, Amlani added, is its uniqueness. "It is based on the Quahra Khaneh (Coffee House) in Turkey where coffee bars were first introduced. So we have hookahs and low set wooden benches that are very unlike other coffee bars," he said.

In fact, it is so different from the other coffee bars that while the look of other coffee bars is more contemporary and lucid, Mocha, invites you with a riot of colours what with the purple chairs, blue tables and orange walls.

The stewards and bartenders are also dressed in a style that is unique to the coffee bar.

The coffee bar also organises art exhibitions and poetry reading sessions for the eclectic crowd. "In fact, we also offer furniture for sale, which we source from various places like Gujarat and Rajasthan," Amlani added.

"People's perception towards coffee shops is changing now. There is more receptiveness towards such outlets that have, therefore, become perfect hang-outs for people of all age-groups," Amlani said.

"While in the daytime you have young college-going crowd visiting the outlet, in the evening it is the young office-going executives, followed by families in the night," he added. "We expect an equally good response from the Hyderabad crowd as well," Amlani said.