‘The Big Fish Ventures’ plans to rule the global market with ‘Local’

While walking though a wide thoroughfare of Mumbai or Delhi on a busy, exhausting day, what if a café with a fun, interesting interior invites you in with a 'Dabbang' style? That might instantly cheer you up and you might even walk in with jaunty steps. No wonder then that Umang Tiwari’s new café named ‘Dabbang café,’ in collaboration with Arbaaz Khan calls for much excitement.

And this certainly does not come as a surprise as Tewari, the owner of ‘The Big Fish Ventures’ has regaled Delhiites and visitors over the years with his utterly popular joints - The Junkyard café, OMG and The Vault café. Slowly and steadily, he aims to transform India’s dining culture with some of the largest premium dining lounges. Hailing from a non-hospitality background, Tewari was inspired by the food and music scene which led him to venture into the hospitality sector and today he has Yuvraj Singh’s brand Youwecan as an investor. In an exclusive interaction with Baishali Mukherjee, Tewari opens up about his business strategy and vision.

His is story of hard work, focused approach and saying a firm no to procrastination...

My exposure in hospitality while working at a cafe in UK gradually transformed into a dream of owning a restaurant. It was purely out of passion that I launched Oxygen in the year 2002 by investing my own savings. Oxygen revolutionized the clubbing industry of India and in 2014 I launched ‘The Vault café’ in Delhi. My business model has worked well and I am now planning to launch over 40 outlets across India and overseas in the coming years.

Diversity is the key

All my joints are crafted with unique themes and cuisine. ‘The Vault café’ is a vintage industrial ambience visualized as a storehouse of British East India company. The dining experience, indoors has been done up in a darkish setting, with red light flooding in, within spaces which simulate as private vaults. Garam Dharam is a concept restaurant inspired from India’s veteran actor Dharmendra. The casual dining outlet at Connaught Place with its rustic ambience effectively masquerades as an opulent Dhaba, with images of Dharmendra adorning the brick walls. Café OMG defines two different creations of God - Hell and Heaven!!! Heaven is bright and has a lot of gold signifying a beautiful world, whereas, Hell is dark. Spread across 6500 sq. ft., Café OMG is centrally located which makes it very accessible to shoppers and visitors.

More is merry

Team ‘The Big Fish Ventures’ is currently working hard for the inauguration of yet another food joint with a seating capacity of 1800 and with this we are taking part in the Limca book of records. This will be followed by ventures like Garam Dharam in Murthal, Ludhiyana, Chandigarh, Amritsar and more. Brand ‘Local’ is unique for its revolutionary pricing of multi-cuisine options under Rs 300. We plan to rule the global market with our new venture – ‘Local’ which is laid out across 18,000 sq. ft. at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Connaught Place. Another restaurant, ‘Junction’, in Hauz Khas with multiple restaurants under one roof with a beautiful terrace promises to be the after-hours joint for all the party freaks. In an exciting collaboration with Arbaaz Khan we are also coming up with Dabbang Café soon.

Destination next

Our next destination is Mumbai and we are all set to launch ‘The Junkyard café’ at three most promising locations of Mumbai with an approximate Rs 50 million investment. The first one has already been launched last December. Junkyard Café, a grungy resto-pub already has three outlets in the capital. The concept was invented a year ago in Delhi and very soon it became a huge success leading to two more outlets. The ambience became such a hit in Delhi that taking the concept to a new height in Mumbai became the logical step.

‘Junk here is funk’ and when I launched the Junkyard Café in Delhi, we paved a fresh change in the way the city partied. Now we are gearing up to replicate the magic multi-fold in Mumbai’s party circuit. I am sure Mumbaiwallas will love the place and will take gastronomy food and nightlife revolution to an all-together different level. My fascination for strong personalities reflects in the signature walls of the café which make them look lifelike. The Junkyard Café aspires to become a place which will be frequented by those who like to keep it casual and enjoy a satiating meal in a funky environment.

Success mantra!

I am an optimist who believes in working hard towards achieving my goals. I try to execute my visions in different ways rather than following the same norms. However, I am blessed to have great team that helps me to execute my work in the best way possible. My dedication has been recognised with awards including The Best Restaurateur of the Year rewarded by Ex-Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh. I have also received the Youth Icon Restaurateur award by Franchise India and have also won the best debut award by Times food Nightlife Guide 2016 for Junkyard café, which is the most prestigious award in India.

Going with time

We have also launched a mobile application in February 2016 to increase both sales and visibility for the business. Living in a millennial generation I believe in making the reach effortless and there is no better way to do that than with the Big Fish Venture mobile application, which provides seamless booking and simple online payment to customers. Till now, it has been servicing 60,000 customers every month across every outlet. The application is becoming the main form of digital interaction and I want to create a social community for followers of my brands in order to acquire feedback and in return provide them with new offers and updates for each event. The mobile application, can also be utilized for the launch of loyalty benefit programs for Big Fish Ventures clients and will be a one stop solution for reservations, payments and offers for all cafes and restaurants under Big Fish Ventures as it allows the consumers to gain on their spending in terms of discounts and deals on next billing and get reservation on priority.

Spreading wings

Indian Food Industry is at the most dynamic state as it captures the elements from all parts of the world. The vision I have is not just limited to the capital of India but will grow with outlets across cities and countries. We plan to provide our customers with what we believe in, which is the finest of food, entertainment and experience. We wish to receive the same overwhelming response that we have received so far. Just like there are right ingredients to make a right dish; there are also some elements that go in making a successful restaurant like, the right location, good quality food, right target audience and a good ambience.

Do you have any 'dabbang,' explosive idea for a new avenue of business? Please put in your comments.