Pizza chain Sbarro to add 20 outlets in India by 2016-end

US-based pizza chain Sbarro is planning to add 20 'New York style pizza' restaurants in north and east India in two years as part of expansion plans in the country.

The chain, which has around 900 Sbarro outlets in more than 40 countries, operates in northern and eastern parts of India through its master franchise Jyoti International Foods

"We plan to open 20 new restaurants by end of 2016 and will be investing up to Rs 30 crore for this," Jyoti International Foods Pvt Ltd Chief Executive Officer Akhil Puri said.

In the first phase of expansion, the company is primarily looking at areas in Delhi and NCR, followed by outlets in Punjab and Gujarat. We currently have two restaurants, Puri added.

"We plan to follow different type of models at different locations. In some places we will have flagship restaurants and in some we will have inline stores. We are also aiming to focus on opening home delivery stores," Puri said.

Speaking about the size of outlets he added: "The flagship outlets will have a space of around 2,000 sq feet. Inline outlets in malls would be between 1000 to 1,200 sq feet while in food courts and kiosks it will be between 400 to 600 sq feet."

As part of their agreement, Jyoti International Foods Pvt Ltd (JIFPL) pays development fees and royalty on revenues to Sbarro.

"We are also offering pizza-by-slice in our restaurants and it is very popular with our customers as they can order only a piece of pizza and not a full sized one and enjoy different flavours," Puri said.