Spices of Life Offering a taste of India in a casual setting, these two restaurateurs bring ethnic food to the masses.
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Vital Stats: Sushil Malhotra ®, 55, and RajeshBhardwaj, 45, of Café Spice
Company: Casual-style restaurants offering Indiancuisine
2005 Projected Sales: Over $12 million
Frugal Foodies
For over 25 years, Malhotra's Indian fine-dining venturesthrived in the New York City restaurant scene. He knew customersenjoyed the food and ambience of his upscale eatery, Dawat, but hebelieved that, because of the higher price point, "they werehappier coming when they were on an expense account." Malhotraresolved to offer authentic regional food, atmosphere andreasonable prices in a more casual setting. Bhardwaj, who hadhands-on restaurant experience in both India and New York City,shared his vision.
Hot Plates
Café Spice was created in 1998 to "reintroduce"basic classic Indian dishes. Staples like samosas, chicken tikkamasala and saag paneer are among customer favorites. Contemporarydesigns with spice-like colors provide a sleek atmosphere at therestaurants, where customers of all ethnicities flock to taste themulti-regional fare.
Cultural Explosion
Zaika Flavors, Café Spice's quality control center andcommissary, is where all the food is marinated and sauces arestarted before refrigerated trucks deliver them to the restaurants.When food operators came calling, Zaika spun off into its ownbusiness; it now provides food to the Citibank, United Nations andWorld Bank cafeterias. In addition, Whole Foods grocers purchase10,000 pounds of food from Zaika Flavors every week.
Campus Cuisine
Café Spice currently has seven locations and is set to openthree more by the end of 2005. The company also plans to expandinto university towns across the U.S. "[College students] aremore educated about the cuisine and more amenable to tryingit," says Malhotra. "Demographically, it's arisk-free market-success comes a little faster."
