Riyaaz Amlani's Eyes $20m Funding As He Targets Entrepreneurial Youth With 'Social' Brand

Either scale up or be prepared to
get copied by cheap imitators,
says restaurant mogul
Riyaaz Amlani of Impresario
Entertainment & Hospitality

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

"Starbucks positions itself as the 'third place' between work and home, but for me, Social is the 'second place' -- a place to work and to unwind for entrepreneurial young people who are setting themselves up."

ONE OF India's biggest self-made entrepreneurial success stories in the restaurant business, Riyaaz Amlani, is all set to raise another $20 million (Rs 120 crore at present exchange rates) to finance the ambitious growth targets that he has set for his hospitality company, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.

Impresario has already received two rounds of private equity funding from Beacon India, the local arm of Baer Partners that has invested in entities as diverse as the National Stock Exchange, Ratnakar Bank, Saffronart and Delhi's Bhayana Builders, and Gaurav Goenka's Mirah Hospitality, whose showpiece brands include Citrus Hotels and Khandani Rajdhani.

After selling shoes when he was a teenager, getting an MBA in Entertainment Management at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and working for media mogul and former Rajya Sabha MP Pritish Nandy, Amlani launched Mocha: Coffees and Conversations, a bold experiment to bring the culture of five-star coffee shops to young people like him, at a 500 sq. ft. location at Churchgate, Mumbai, in 2001.

Today, 13 years on, Amlani presides over a restaurant business that spans 39 outlets in 12 cities, and concepts as diverse as his star chef Gresham Fernandes's Gypsy Kitchen pop-up dinners at St Jude's Bakery in the quaint East Indian village of Ranwar in Bandra, Mumbai, to his newest (and most exciting) brand, Social, which has been conceptualised as a quirky work and party space for "young bootstrapping entrepreneurs".

The view from Hauz Khas Social, the latest
addition to Amlani's expanding restaurant
empire of 39 outlets in 12 cities

Having put his foot on the accelerator of expansion, Amlani plans to open 50-60 Smoke House Deli outlets in the seven major metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune), and at least two or three each of the more fine dining-focused Salt Water Cafe in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, apart from taking Mocha to Tier-II towns because "Tier-I rental are driving us to them".

But at the core of this ambitious growth strategy is Amlani's belief that the 'cafe bars' catering to the young in metropolitan cities will drive his business. He spells out three reasons for his thrust on cafe bars. One, the audience is bigger, more loyal and much more appreciative of his concepts. Two, in this age of spiralling rentals, restaurateurs have got to sweat their assets by creating all-day dining spaces. "You no longer have the luxury to be a nights- or weekends-only, or fine dining-centric business," reasons Amlani. Three, and perhaps most important, "the battle now is for the customer's watch, not for his wallet." People's leisure time is "shrinking", so the restaurant of the future, such as Social, has to blur the dividing line between work and leisure spaces.

"Starbucks positions itself as the 'third place' between work and home, but for me, Social is the 'second place' -- a place to work and to unwind for entrepreneurial young people who are setting themselves up," says Amlani, as I dig the Pakistani street food delicacy, Anda Shammi, in a sea activity on the pre-opening afternoon of Hauz Khas Social.

Amlani got the idea of Social by watching people armed with laptops conducting business meetings at Barista or Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlets. He was quick to realise that coffee shops are becoming business hubs for young entrepreneurs, but there is an awkwardness in the equation, because people using these spaces for work have this feeling in the back of their mind that they are taking unfair advantage of the hospitality of a Barista or a CCD.

To end this awkwardness and give the people using the space a sense of ownership, Amlani has worked out a business model that allows a start-up the right to use Social for a nominal monthly payment of Rs 5,000 per person -- redeemable against food and drink vouchers. That's so much cheaper than owning an office space anywhere in Delhi-NCR and in this case, the 'office' comes with raw entrepreneurial energy all around it, decently priced food (as you'd expect from your workplace cafeteria), effective air-conditioning, working loos and, more importantly, a view to die for (and on a rainy day, a steady cool gust to keep you inspired).

With naked walls, recycled furniture, a work-in-process look and the hand-painted signs of street art pioneer Hanif Kureshi (better known by his brand name 'Daku', which is the abbreviated form of Design, Art and Culture), Hauz Khas Social, which sprawls across 8,500 sq. ft., also has fully equipped conference rooms that participating startups can use for free. And just in case you are tired of ordering the sumptuous all-day breakfast options (priced between Rs 250 and Rs 300), or the other offbeat menu items created by the brilliant trio of food and beverages head Sid Mathur, and chefs Gaurav Gidwani and Shamsul Wahid, you could ask for the Rs 150 daal-chaawal-sabzi combination of the Social Staff Meal Du Jour.

Is Amlani under pressure from his PE fund investors to expand at a breakneck pace? He answers the question in parts. "PE funds invest in you because of your ability to scale up," Amlani says at first, but then he admits: "Scale is the enemy of soul." But then he says that if he doesn't scale up a concept, others would roll out cheap copies and make a mockery of the original idea.

"I learnt this lesson from my Mocha experience," he reminisces. As soon as the original Mocha in Mumbai started gaining attention, others started copying the idea and before you could say Jack Robinson, as many as 2,200 Mocha copies came up around the country in less than a year. The challenge before Amlani, therefore, is to balance scale with soul -- not the McDonald's or Domino's way. And he does it successfully at Social, whose food and beverage offerings come with a refreshingly new twist (which will be the subject of my next Dining Out review). Restaurateurs like Amlani scaling up is good news for diners who are hungry for more.

Shiv Karan Singh Parts Ways with Riyaaz Amlani; To Relaunch Smoke House Grill as Smokey’s

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

EARLIER in the week, Smoke House Deli at Khan Market was in the news for the front-page picture carried by the Economic Times of its regular patron, Rahul Gandhi, chilling out at the restaurant. He was having his favourite chicken burger, which he, on another occasion, even made his mother order when they came together for lunch. The Page One picture, though, is not the reason why the restaurant trade is abuzz about Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality (IEHPL), the company that owns Smoke House Deli (and a host of other brands).

Riyaaz Amlani (left) and Shiv Karan
Singh at the launch of Smoke House
Deli in Hauz Khas Village earlier
in the year (Photo: Courtesy of
Food and Nightlife Magazine)

The big news that’s sent the trade into a state of high excitement is that Riyaaz Amlani, founder CEO and MD of IEHPL, and his go-to man in Delhi, Shiv Karan Singh, have parted ways. As part of the separation, Singh, who’s well-known in Delhi circles and was responsible in a big way for the group’s successful expansion in the national capital, will get the much-acclaimed Smoke House Grill, the fine-dining restaurant and lounge at Masjid Moth in South Delhi that was shut down “for renovations” some time back.

Smoke House Grill will return soon in its new avatar of Smokey’s BBQ under Singh’s independent stewardship. He’s also working on rolling out a chain of restaurants named Anday Ke Funday, which sources close to the development say is an exciting idea that will ride on the national popularity of egg preparations. Will the new venture be on the lines of the Montreal-headquartered international chain, Eggspectation, which has a partnership going for nearly a decade with Jaypee Hotels? That is the question everyone in the hospitality business is asking.

Amlani, who’ll now focus on his hugely popular Smoke House Deli and Mocha brands, besides floating a couple of new concepts (which we’ll be the first to report!), is in talks, meanwhile, to sell off the location of his aborted ventures, Shroom and Smoke House BBQ at The Crescent, Lado Sarai, virtually across the road from the Qutab Minar.

With Singh’s going, Amlani will lose a very visible face in Delhi. When the well-networked Singh ended his long bachelorhood and got married to film star Reemma Sen (a Tamil cinema heroine who was last seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur) in 2012, the who’s who of the national capital showed up at the Vasant Kunj farmhouse where the marriage reception took place, with a food and drinks spread to match Singh’s reputation as a restaurateur. Singh will certainly cash in on his personal equity to drive the success of his projects.

But Amlani, too, is not a stranger in Delhi. He has just been elected vice-president of the National Restaurant Association of India and his reputation as a hospitality mogul is as big in Delhi as in his home city, Mumbai. In 2011, Gaurav Goenka’s Mirah Hospitality and Beacon India PE Fund invested Rs 48 crore in IEHPL with a mandate to Amlani to expand the Smoke House Deli and Mocha brands across the country. Amlani therefore has his hands full and he seems to be revelling in it.

Samir Kuckreja Re-Elected NRAI Prez in a Year of Challenges and Success

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

SAMIR KUCKREJA, the suave and articulate former CEO and MD of Nirula’s who now runs his own consultancy company, Tasanaya Hospitality, was re-elected president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) at its 31st annual general meeting (AGM) in New Delhi on Tuesday, September 24.

Samir Kuckreja gets another
term as NRAI president

Manpreet Gulri, Development Agent and Country Head, Subway Systems India, and Riyaaz Amlani, MD, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, more famous as the man behind Mocha and Smokehouse Grill, were vice-presidents. Established local restaurateurs Kabir Advani (Berco’s) and Manpreet Singh (Zen and Tao) were voted treasurer and secretary respectively of the national body, which is now in its 31st year, and has 1,200-plus members across 20 cities.

NRAI was in the news for two good reasons this year. The first was its victory in the Delhi High Court, thanks mainly to the persuasive arguments of Lalit Bhasin, in the case that saw the honourable judges uphold the contention that herbal hookahs didn’t come under the purview of the Control of Tobacco Products Act. The second, and in my opinion the more commendable achievement, was the release of the India Food Services Report 2013, which effectively highlighted the economic contributions of the restaurant industry and made the government sit up and take note of the fact.

The report, which was released by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma earlier this year, reported that the contribution made by the restaurant industry to the country’s GDP was almost seven times more than the hotel sector. The industry, whose total turnover is pegged at INR 247,680 crore, is said to be expanding at 11 per cent and is projected to scale to INR 408,040 crore by 2018.

Of this vast pie, the organised segment controls 30 per cent of the business, which works out to INR 67,995 crore, and if it maintains a steady combined average growth rate (CAGR) of 16 per cent, it can reach INR 145,770 crore by 2018. A people intensive industry, restaurants provide direct employment to 5 million people and indirectly provide jobs to another 7-8 million.

That the government has started taking the NRAI as a serious advocacy group is apparent from the trade body’s inclusion as a key partner in an inter-ministerial group set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In Maharashtra, too, the NRAI is represented on the committee that the Chief Secretary has set up to examine various issues raised by the association and to simplify licensing procedures in the state. It has also been working closely with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Looking ahead, Kuckreja said in an interview with Indian Restaurant Spy that the association will address the “big challenge” of training the frontline staff. The NRAI has tied up with the IL&FS Skills Development Corporation to drive this effort, which is on top of the association’s agenda, apart from growing its membership and opening new chapters (at present, it has active chapters only in Mumbai and Bangalore). “This is important because the issues confronting the industry are largely local,” Kuckreja said, adding that the association will continue to be a leader in government advocacy.

The AGM also elected a new managing committee, which comprises: Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s); Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Hardcastle Restaurants (McDonald’s India-West and South); Gaurav Jain, MD, RTC Restaurants India (Ruby Bar and Grill); Jay Singh, Co-Founder and Executive Director, JSM Corporation (Hard Rock Café and Shiro); Monish Gujral, MD, Moti Mahal Deluxe Tandoori Trail; Niren Chaudhary, MD, Yum Restaurants India (Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell); Rahul Singh, Coach and Founder, Beer Café; Rohan Jetley, VP, Bistro Hospitality (TGIF); Sandeep Anand Goyle, CEO, Essex Farms; Sanjay Coutinho, CEO, Baskin Robbins; Santosh Jindal, Director, Jade Garden Restaurant; Sunil Lamba, MD, Kwality Group; Tarsillo Nataloni, Director, Flavors; Vipin Luthra, Chairman & MD, The Palms Town and Country Club; Vyoum Ghai, Director, Suribachi and Buzz.