Chili’s Grill & Bar, the American casual dining restaurant chain, has embarked on an expansion drive in India wherein it plans to set up 10 more outlets within two years with an investment of about $ 10 million (about Rs 60 crore).
The chain has presence through over 1,500 restaurants across 33 countries and operates 10 restaurants in India, of them five are in the Western and Southern part of the country.
Ashish Saxena, Chief Executive Officer of Chili’s Grill & Bar, South & West India, told Business Line, “Last year was a period of consolidation of the existing investments made in five restaurants located in Mumbai, Pune Hyderabad, Bangalore. Now, it is time to expand by setting up more restaurants in the existing locations as we believe that is a better way to handle growth.”
“The model we have adopted is expansion of restaurants on our own rather than franchise approach. Each restaurant requires an investment of about $1 million,” he said.
The chain entered India in 2009 with the first restaurant in Powai, Mumbai. In 2013 Tex Mex Cuisine India was formed as a separate company to look after the chain in South and West India. TVS Capital is the majority owner in Tex Mex.
“Our restaurants are popular among youth, corporate entities and families who like to eat out. The chain has a number of corporate tie ups which bring regular business,” he said.