The Exchanges

Q So which way do you think India will go? India is at three percent. Do you think we'll go the China way? Where there seems to be a balance of dine-in, QSR, all of that working, but QSR has only grown to 20% and stopped there. I think that's a cultural difference. You think India is more going to mimic China than America because culturally we are similar?

A My vote goes to China. It's, it's, it's, look, in America, fast food works because it's labor arbitrage. You go to a supermarket, you buy the ingredients, you chop it, you cook it, you stir it, you plate it, you wash the dishes after that. It's gonna cost you more than going to a QSR, ordering that, that burger, that fry, that shake. It's gonna be cheaper, faster, quicker. And in India, it's not that yet. It's still cheaper to make food at home. It's the labor or the labor arbitrage is still not considered that important, right? They're always going to be, uh, somebody at home who's, who's happy to cook for you, who's going to happily clean the dishes for you. So that, that price arbitrage is not there. So the value seekers will continue.

AI assessment note: “My vote goes to China.”

Q Yeah. Guys, staffing. Where do you hire restaurant staff from? And is there anything In particular, you can do to retain that stuff. Are there any hacks in this industry? Riyaz, you wanna go first?

A Um, I think that, uh, uh, we have, fortunately, I think word of mouth as a good employer is very, very important. Referrals for us are the number one, uh, recruitment source. Um, We encourage our staff to bring us more staff. That is the shortest and fastest way of, of getting good quality people. Of course, you need to have a robust training program. Uh, you need to know, okay, you know, what do you want to put somebody on the floor? What can you do to get them on the floor? What are the basic skills they need? I am not a big believer in, um, in education. I think it's completely a waste of time in, in the hospitality business.

AI assessment note: “Referrals for us are the number one, uh, recruitment source.”

Q So what is the connection with music? Nothing?

A I wouldn't say nothing. Um, you know, I think that, um, restaurants are a multisensory experience, right? And, uh, many times, you know, the takeoff point for a restaurant could be music. So I would go to my architects, you know, and I would say, okay, This is like, you know, acid jazz. What kind of place would you want to listen to acid jazz? And that food for me would work as a really good kind of an entry point into the tonality of the restaurant. It doesn't really matter. It's just that the, the, the, the tone has very famously always says that if he's like a conductor and he's like, you know, making sure that all the various elements, which could be food, It could be the plates. It could be the weight of the glass in your hand. It could be, uh, the sights, smells, sounds, all this goes to complete the experience that you have.

AI assessment note: “I wouldn't say nothing. Um, you know, I think that, um, restaurants are a multisensory experience”

Q But give me a definitive tip that me as a 20 year old trying to start a restaurant, I get that India is nuanced. I get that people in South, West, East, North, all like different things. If I were to go about building a restaurant business, how do I utilize that?

A Definitely novelty will get you the attention, but comfort will get you the repeat business. And I think that that's a significant difference between your cafe business and the restaurant business, because In, in restaurants, we're looking for novelty. We're looking for elevation. We're looking for experience. In a cafe, we're looking for community. We're looking for convenience. We're looking for comfort. And their frequency as a use case is way higher. If today I, I love his food. I think one of, you know, some of the best Indian restaurants in India and in the world are from his table. He gives best quality service, best quality food, best quality value. You know, I treat like a king. But tomorrow, I'm going to be like, Kali toh khaya tha yaar, kuch aor khate hain. Chinese khate hain. Ah, aaj korean khate hain, aaj kuch aor khate hain. You know, it, it varies. So, you will, you will seek variety. But in a, in a, in a cafe, you're not going to say, Kali toh starbucks gya tha. Ya, aaj sham koi toh coffee piti. You'll be, it's something that you want to kind of reach out for automatically. So there's a distinction between a cafe and a restaurant in that sense. And there'll always be a distinction between are you trying to sell a novel product, which was a new, new thing. Is it a custard filled craffin? Or am I giving you a motichur laddu, which is going to last forever? Or am I…

AI assessment note: “novelty will get you the attention, but comfort will get you the repeat business.”

Q Is what we get in India called organic, actually organic?

A So one is the fact that it is, well, you could, you could go back for like four years ago. Was there any pesticides used? So, I mean, it's still murky, it's still transitioning. But again, another thing is that when you're importing things, right? India is an agricultural Economy. So the tariffs and excise is prohibitive for anything excessive. For example, if you were to import coffee beans, and I think Starbucks faces this challenge. It's a 180% duty on coffee. It's more than what you'd pay for a car because you're protecting your agricultural economy. So, so on one hand, you cannot import, you know, quality ingredients. On the other hand, there is no artisanal pride or, or, or a system that rewards artisanal agriculture. And then this mandi system where there is no provenance or accountability for what you're really producing.

AI assessment note: “it's still murky, it's still transitioning”