The Hindu Business Line : Oriental Cuisines plans new restaurants, bakeries

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 24 The Chennai-based Oriental Cuisines Pvt Ltd plans to invest between Rs 60 crore and Rs 70 crore to set up several new restaurants and bakeries in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Mr M. Mahadevan, Director, Oriental Cuisines Pvt Ltd, told Business Line that this expansion will be mostly funded by the investment received from the Mauritius-based Peepul Capital. It was in September last year that Mr Mahadevan sold a 50 per cent stake in Oriental Cuisines to Peepul Capital.

Once the funds raised from Peepul Capital are used, the company may opt for the debt route to fund further growth till 2010, he said. After 2010, he may look at a further dilution of equity, Mr Mahadevan added.

In the current expansion, the company will take its ‘French Loaf’ bakery brand, ‘Zara’ tapas bar and ‘Benjarong’ Thai restaurant to four cities over the next few months.

‘French Loaf’, which is positioned as an upmarket brand, sells a range of exclusive breads, pastries and cheeses. There is currently one ‘French Loaf’ outlet in Chennai and the plan is to open another in Bangalore by this month-end, Mr Mahadevan said. By February, ‘French Loaf’ outlets will be opened in Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi, he added.

‘Zara’ tapas bars will be opened in Pune and Bangalore by this month-end and will later be launched in New Delhi and Mumbai, he said.

Similarly, ‘Benjarong’ Thai restaurants will soon be taken to these four cities. The company currently has two ‘Zara’ bars in Chennai and one in Kolkata, and a ‘Benjarong’ restaurant in each city.

Also on the cards is a new restaurant brand called ‘Cocum’, Mr Mahadevan said.

In Chennai, the company currently operates ‘Ende Keralam’ which serves cuisine from Kerala.

The plan is to expand this offering by launching ‘Cocum’, which will have food from the coastal regions of Southern India, he explained. The first ‘Cocum’ outlet will be set up in Chennai, followed by Pune and Kolkata. Oriental Cuisines, which operates 14 food service brands in the country, is also looking at introducing “affordable teppanyaki” (a type of Japanese cuisine) in India, he added.

Meanwhile, the company, which also operates the ‘Planet Yumm’ food courts, is taking these to more locations. Its strategy is to set up ‘Planet Yumm’ in locations such as railway stations, technology parks and malls, he pointed out. New ‘Planet Yumm’ food courts will soon open in several railway stations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, he added.