PUNE
It was 1986.
After returning to Mumbai from London, one fine day, I along with three friends of mine from school, have decided on opening a fine dining Indian restaurant.
I’ve set
out looking for locations right away, for the business of restaurants
uncompromisingly rides on location, location and location.
Although a suitable place has been finalized here at Andheri, we had to rework
our thoughts towards shifting to Pune, the reason being Pune, of that day and
age, couldn’t boast of any fine dining restaurant of any sorts, and our project
might potentially lift up it’s market.
Well, the location again! After screening almost 12-15 properties, we finally zeroed in on a place at Sadhu Waswani Chowk in Parmar Chambers, near Pune Railway Station.
The hurdle of location has been crossed. Of course. But it was definitely a challenge to finance our intentions, but thankfully we were able to organize and derive it successfully for the equipment, interiors and other requirements, though it did manage to consume considerable efforts. And I proudly say that it was the first and foremost standalone fine dining restaurant in Pune back in the day.
GLASGOW
It sure was memorable for having opened two Indian restaurants individually featuring the North & South of Indian cuisines. Dhabba being the Authentic North Indian Diner, and Dakhin, the South Indian Kitchen were placed in two distinct locations of Merchant City.
Running since 2002 & 2004 respectively, Dhabba and Dakhin have been the most popular Indian restaurants in the most populous city, Glasgow and the only two Michelin recommended in Scotland. The experience gathered in Pune, helped gain immense confidence for two ambitious projects on foreign land.
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