Newstrack

Adiga aims at a pan India presence by 2010

Gayatri Vijaykumar - Bangalore

K N Vasudeva

With the aim of spreading South Indian cuisine in India and internationally, Bangalore-based Adiga group of hotels plans to open exclusive south Indian vegetarian restaurants in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Jodhpur between 2008 and 2010.

According to K N Vasudeva Adiga, managing director, Adiga group of hotels, the restaurants would be medium-sized with a seating capacity of 120. Internationally, Adiga plans to open restaurants in Cardiff and Lester in the United Kingdom and are also

considering the US as an option. "We would initially like to focus on expanding within India and then between 2009 and 2011 focus on setting up south Indian vegetarian restaurants in Cardiff and Lester in the UK and the US," said Adiga. According to him, the large Indian population and cheaper real estate prices in Cardiff and Lester made them more viable options for setting up the restaurants, as compared to London. "It is highly risky to invest in a south Indian restaurant outside India so we will be following the franchisee model with an option of upto 49 per cent investment," Adiga said.

According to Adiga, the market for south Indian food in the northern parts of the country was huge and thus held profitable business promise. "A south Indian thali which costs around Rs 40 in Bangalore will sell at thrice the price in Mumbai. We would like to exploit the potential of north Indian cities too," Adiga explained.

Started in 1993, the Adiga group of hotels have ten South Indian vegetarian restaurants in Bangalore as well as a south Indian restaurant in Sharjah, UAE.