Savouring success with local taste

He wanted to serve authentic local cuisine to all those gourmands who were tired of the same Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Continental platters.  With a strong notion to serve local flavoured thali, Rahul Chandak, Founder, Panchavati Gaurav expanded his brand. In a candid chat with Ekta Verma, he shares expansion plans of the brand and how Panchavati Gaurav is different from other hospitality brands. Read on to know more …

How was the idea of Panchavati Hotels, Motels and Restaurants conceptualised?

My uncle Radhakisan Chandak formed Panchavati group in 1982. For me it was a very motivating idea. We created a chain of hotel’s and restaurants all over India. We started Panchavati Gaurav Thali restaurants near Bombay Hospital Marine line Mumbai, in 1994 and got an enormous response. He had a clear vision and idea to own indigenous chain of restaurants instead of waiting for competitors to come in. I joined Panchavati Group in 1995 with an ambition to achieve the vision. It’s been a phenomenal, very exhilarating journey and a joy ride from 1995 till date.

How is Panchavati Group different from other hospitality brands? What is your success mantra?

Quality, transparency and ethics are our keys to success. We always do what is right for our customers and do not take any short cuts.

What inspired you to take franchise route?

Franchising is the best way to expand. We have followed a partnership model where we associate with entrepreneurs to get the best results. The advantage is that franchising helps to optimise and maximise the resources because the partners also put in their efforts and money to succeed. It is a collective effort and a good opportunity to make money. Through franchising, we can also provide services to our customers at places where we are not directly present.

Share your expansion plans. Where do you see your group in the next five years?

We plan to develop a successful franchisee network across India. Starting from Nashik in 1982, we expanded to Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Raipur, Jabalpur etc. Currently, we have four franchise units and planning to open more restaurants in Pune and Bengaluru. Through the franchise route, our target is to open 50 outlets by 2018. Our dream is to spread our outlets worldwide.

What according to you is the scope for aspirants keen on taking the franchise for Panchavati Gaurav?

Panchavati Gaurav is an entirely vegetarian thali restaurant. We serve 30 items in one thali. I feel nowadays people are getting more health conscious and are staying away from junk food because of health issues. There is a lot of scope for prospective franchisees as now people want hygienic and healthy food.

Share with us the challenges that can be faced by your franchisees? How can they be overcome?

Our concept is to serve Rajasthani and Gujarati food. A franchisee from any other region will have to customise the menu a bit, according to region and local tastes too. For example- When we opened our restaurant in Bangalore, we had to face problems regarding customer satisfaction because they wanted local taste in thali. As soon as we added local food items in thali, this resolved the problem and our restaurant started gaining popularity. So, any challenges regarding food can be overcome with local understanding and expertise.

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