Episode 3 -

Eating Capital

Eating Capital focuses on the restaurant business in Delhi and Mumbai, an industry that, according to most experts, has irrevocably transformed due to the COVID pandemic. Cloud kitchens have exploded, and delivery, rather than dining in, has become the name of the game. In this episode Meher speaks with an established restaurant consultant, Samir Kuckreja, and two restaurant owners, Kainaz Messman and Jiten Suchede, to ask what it really takes for independent cafes and coffee shops to tick in today’s highly competitive market. What are the values that restaurant owners must weigh in order to survive? These conversations are full of sharp insights for anyone who has ever thought about opening a cafe, and the news is not all discouraging. 

In this episode of Bad Table Manners, Meher chats with:

• Samir Kuckreja, former president of the National Restaurant Association of India and founder of the consulting group Tasanaya Hospitality.

• Kainaz Messman, who founded Theobroma, a popular bakery chain with over 80 locations across India. 

• Jiten Suchede is the owner and chief chaiwala at Jugmug Thela, a popular cafe franchise in New Delhi.

Episode highlights:

The Impact of the COVID Pandemic

• Samir estimates that 20-25% of organized restaurants in Delhi have shut down, largely due to inflexibility of landlords who didn’t reduce rents.

• Unorganized businesses, such as roadside counters and kiosks, closed at a rate of 35-40%.

• Overall, these numbers translate to about 1.5 million jobs in the restaurant industry that have been lost in 18 months.

Adapting as a Means of Survival

• Kainaz recounts the ways her business had to adapt to COVID protocols, including shorter menus. 

• She likens the impact of the pandemic on restaurants to the affect that the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. had on air travel. “I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to what it was,” she says. “This is here to stay.”

Cloud Kitchens and Delivery Models

• Meher discusses the concept of cloud kitchens, also called ghost kitchens or dark kitchens, and the uptick in delivery services. Though they have been poorly stigmatized, they offer a chance for survival for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• “There is a need and space for all formats,” Kainaz says. 

Customer Service: A Pillar of Capitalism

• Serving the customer is the thread that ties all different business models together, Meher argues. Cloud kitchens and brick-and-mortar businesses are vastly different, but they both serve the same function: satisfying the customer.

• Jiten emphasizes this point by stating that running a hospitality business is a rational exercise, not a creative one. 

The Challenges of Running a Hospitality Business

• Jiten emphasizes the importance of thoughtfulness at every stage of planning a restaurant business, while Kainaz discusses the challenges of working in the globally male-dominated hospitality industry as a woman.