Meet Debaditya Chaudhury who runs 22 Chowman Chinese restaurants after starting his business with Rs. 10 lac

Debaditya Chaudhury's first Chinese restaurant, Chowman, started doing business in 2010. He now has 22 of them, 18 of them are in Kolkata and 4 in Bangalore.

If you've spent a significant amount of time in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) or live there, you're already a fan of Chinese cuisine. There isn't a single Calcutta resident who doesn't enjoy Chinese cuisine. In reality, the first Chinese restaurant in India opened almost a century ago in Calcutta.

The restaurant, known as Eau Chew, was founded in 1920 by a Chinese immigrant as a tiffin stop for other Chinese immigrants arriving in Calcutta.

The distinctive Indian Chinese food was an instant hit, and it is now available in practically every section of the country. Given that India has 70 lakh organised restaurants and 2.3 crore unorganised restaurants (according to the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India), it's safe to assume that the majority of them serve Indian Chinese, even if they aren't independent Chinese restaurants.

There are over 200 Chinese restaurants in Kolkata, as well as possibly numerous street sellers selling Hakka noodles and spicy chicken. How does someone who wants to open a Chinese restaurant in Kolkata plan for success in such a situation?

Debaditya Chaudhury asked himself the same question when he started his first Chinese restaurant, Chowman, in Kolkata in 2010.

The 39-year-old started his business with Rs 10 lakh of his own money, and he wondered how he would stand out from the throng "Kolkata has the most Chinese restaurants per capita.

Debaditya says, "It's based on Alfred Ford's (great-grandson of Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company) philosophy of making cars more accessible to the general public. Similarly, I wanted to make fine dining more accessible. I wanted to build tiny Chowman outlets with high-end decor, china, and silverware similar to those seen in fine dining establishments, and food comparable to that found in any five-star hotel, all at fair and moderate prices "Over a Zoom call from Kolkata, he tells me.

Debaditya, a first-generation entrepreneur, invested his funds to open his first store. He currently has 22 of them, 18 of them are in Kolkata and four in Bangalore. Before we get into his business plan that helped him earn a spot in the Chinese restaurant hall of fame, there's a fascinating tale to how he got into the food business.

Following his MBA in marketing, Debaditya began his career as a musician. He is still a member of the popular Bangla rock band 'Lakkhichara' (loosely translated as wild and passionate).

He would travel with the band all over the world, playing piano and managing the band, "anywhere there was a Bengali community."

He recalls, "We've performed in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. The show grew in popularity. But I'd always wanted to be a culinary entrepreneur, and I realised it was past time."

It was a no-brainer to open a Chinese restaurant He launched cloud kitchens even before the notion became widespread, and he established his own delivery team.

It was a modest outlet that Debaditya started with. In addition to being featured on food delivery apps, he now has a delivery fleet of 125 individuals in Kolkata. There are roughly 60 delivery people in Bangalore.

Debaditya Chaudhury says, "For them, it is a stable employment." He was confident in the cloud kitchen business at the time, and he is even more convinced now. His dine-in business and delivery were on par before the outbreak.”

According to him, his business currently has 30% dine-ins and the delivery business has grabbed the lead.

When it comes to a cloud kitchen's success, the key is location, location, location. H1e plans to open four more cloud kitchens in Bangalore, in addition to the four stores he now has.

Chowman, for example, is developing a cloud kitchen in CV Raman Nagar, where rentals are lower, to cater to a premium location like Bangalore's Indiranagar neighbourhood

According to Debaditya Chaudhury, "The craze for cloud kitchens is only getting started. Only cloud kitchens will exist in the next five years." However, he is convinced that he will have both dine-in and cloud kitchens in his own firm.

He recently launched an outlet in Indiranagar.

Debaditya says, "Surely, a dine-in establishment requires greater investment. Kitchens in the cloud provide a better return on investment. However, in my opinion, dine-ins are necessary for brand awareness. Otherwise, there is no connection between the two brands." After Kolkata, Bangalore is the second city where Chowman has a presence.

What is the best way for a local brand to establish itself in a new city? Word of mouth has worked best for Chowman.

https://timesapplaud.com/?p=10721&feed_id=12049