On the record: The Belly’s Sultanate

At age 35, I like to say I’m 18 years old, with 17 years of experience. Both my parents were lawyers but I wanted to become a businessman. Since food and nightlife were something I was passionate about, I decided to go into the restaurant business. It was the year 1999 and I was 19 years old when I opened Lazeez Affaire at a family-owned home in Malcha Marg, following it up with RPM, a club at Priya Complex.

You’ve made the café space your own, considering so many of your properties are based on that idea. What led to it?

After RPM and Lazeez, I established three cafés around the same time in different locations, and the response was phenomenal. That’s when I realised I was on to something with huge potential. The sudden boom of the cafe concept in the Capital is due to its citizenry’s sense of ennui with fine dining. Combining elements of both ‘partying’ and food, cafes fired the enthusiasm of Delhi’s ‘it’ crowd, followed by the rest of the populace.

So why have you concentrated on Delhi? Any plans to expand?

My home is here, my friends and family are here. Also, Delhi has the highest APC (average per customer) in the country. The average north Indian loves going out to eat and drink, and people here have the money to spend. However, the biggest hassle in opening a restaurant in Delhi is the licensing laws. But I do intend to expand. I plan to operate 75 restaurants in Delhi within the next five years, 12 of them are scheduled to open this year itself. We will have a franchise of Lazeez Affaire in San Francisco soon. That aside, I’m looking at Bangalore and Pune next year. We already have The Flying Saucer in Pune.

How do you manage funding?

I have a core group of five-six investors and a larger group of about 10-12, whom I collaborate with variously on different projects. Over the years they’ve become even more enthusiastic, given the rate of returns. With my success rate, it’s not that hard to find people.

And what about the future?

I’m going to stick to the restaurant business, that is for sure. Ideally in 10 years, I’d like to retire to a quiet beach somewhere. I’ll probably end up opening a bar there.

shantanu.david@expressindia.com