Vegetarian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan to open hotels

Chennai based vegetarian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan is planning to open hotels chain in India.

The group is soon launching a hotel in Chennai followed by many other openings.

The South Indian Restaurant chain which has entered 20 countries with over 63 outlets in these countries and about 37 in India will be focusing on hotel part of the business for coming fiscal.

“We will not be opening more restaurants this fiscal, this year will be focused on hotel openings,” said Shiva Kumar, MD, Saravana Bhavan.

Adding to the opportunity the brand is seeing in India, Kumar added, “In India there is plenty of scope and growth and our brand has lots of potential to grow as people like eating south Indian food.”

Tea Trails opens its outlet in Chennai

Tea Trails, a fast growing tea caf chain in the country, launched its first outlet in Chennai. Noted cine director KS Ravi Kumar inaugurated the outlet.

Zone8 Tea World Pvt Ltd that runs Tea Trails brand cafes in the country is expanding fast and aims to be present pan India in coming period. Chennai is the latest city where it has forayed.

The Company forayed last month in South India with its first caf in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills. It also marked the brands first outlet outside the Mumbai metro region.

"With the launch of Chennai caf, we are now present in the two cities in South India. We are expanding our franchisee network to be a pan India player. South India is a major market for us and we are confident that this Master Franchise Agreement in Tamil Nadu will give us the required presence across Tamil Nadu, said Tea Trails co-founder and CEO Sanjeev S Potti.

The company has partnered with Slimlines food and Beverages Pvt Ltd to be its master franchisee for Tamil Nadu.

Tea Trails offers a gourmet tea drinking experience to the discerning consumer and brings to India the fast emerging international trend with a desi twist. It offers carefully curated range of the finest teas from Indian and around the world.

Launched in late 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs with successful track records, Tea Trails Caf has embarked on an interesting journey of changing the rules of the game in the caf space.

SOCH TO OPEN 25 FRANCHISE OUTLETS IN 2016

Ethnic women wear brand Soch sees 2016 year optimistically as it hopes to set up 35 to 40 more outlets next year in India. Of these total stores, 20-25 will be opened through the franchise mode.

“We intend to open 35-40 stores by the end of 2016. Our plan is to grow in Central, West and South India followed by opening Soch outlets in North and East of India. At present, our total number of franchise outlets stands at 15. We intend to open 20-25 more stores via the franchise route by 2016,” Vinay Chatlani, MD & CEO, Soch, Said.

The brand currently has 62 stores across India at key locations including Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cochin, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kolhapur, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Indore, Bhopal, Belgaum, Visakhapatnam, Gulbarga, Kanpur, Salem, Dharwad, Tumkur and Calicut.

Soch, which came into being in February 2005 with its first store, offers fashionable range of designer wear for women at an affordable price. The brand has redefined the traditional Indian outfit for women of all ages and has a wide range of stylish and elegant designer ethnic wear like sarees, salwar kameez, kurtis and bottoms for fairer sex.

Manhattan Fish Market opens outlet in Chennai, sets sight on another 10 cities

After popularising chicken, quick service restaurant chains are now looking at healthier seafood. Some of the international seafood chains also are entering the Indian market.

International specialty casual dining restaurant chain Manhattan Fish Market has launched its first outlet in the country in Chennai.

Jumbo Seafoods Pvt Ltd, the master franchisee of the Malaysian restaurant brand, plans to take the brand to at least another 10 cities in the country through sub-franchising.

The 140-seat restaurant will serve predominantly seafood, said M Shafraz Anees, Managing Director of Jumbo Seafoods. “However, as we go forward, we will gradually step up our vegetarian offerings to at least 20-25 per cent.” There was a big gap in the market which offers good quality seafood either at a very high price or very cheap and not-so-hygienic restaurants, “And hence we positioned our restaurant at the right place where it offers good food at affordable price points,” he said. A three-course meal will cost ₹650 here, he added. It serves fish in flamed, poached, grilled, fried and baked forms in American-styled cuisine.

The brand name (Manhattan) is the influence of the famous Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, and the restaurant has 60 outlets in Asia and the Middle East.

The Indian master franchisee also owns the franchise rights for Sri Lanka and Maldives. “We have two restaurants in Sri Lanka, and are in the process of expanding there as well,” Anees said.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel eyes south India's religious centres to boost business

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is eyeing major pilgrimage centres in south India to set up hotels as part of its expansion plans, a top company official said today. 

Carlson Group is one of the world's largest hotel chains. South India has vast potential for religious tourism and the group is focusing its attention to develop hotels in major pilgrimage centres like Tirupati, Madurai and Rameshwaram, said Raj Rana, CEO, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, South Asia. 

"The group has already tapped the pilgrimage tourism potential in northern parts of the country like Ajmer, Varanasi and Haridwar and as part of the expansion of footprint, south (India) is an important destination for such activities," he said. 

Depending upon availability of partners and locations, we would set up at least 20 heritage hotels in these centres in five to seven years, he said. As the group functions on franchise, management and operation basis, the investments would purely depend on arrangements based on partners and number of hotel rooms, he added. The group is also open to conversion of existing hotels and their renovation, he said. 

Rana was here to inspect progress of work on the group's five-star hotel under Radisson Blu brand. 

The Coimbatore facility wold commence operations next year, he said. 

The group presently has 74 hotels across the country, including two in Chennai, one in Mahabilipuram and one in Salem in Tamil Nadu under different brands and 40 more hotels are in the pipeline.