Amit Bagga always believed that if you put all your heart, soul, mind, thirst, and hunger into your dream, nobody can stop you from realizing it. His roots lie in the family business of Automobiles, which he was expected to get into.
However, after Amit finished his higher studies, he had this burning desire to enter the restaurant industry. “I had a strong passion for the same since the beginning. I co-founded a Restaurant Bar with a friend in 2005 to learn the ropes,” he recalls.
By 2015, he decided to move out of the Bar segment and shift to the Family dining segment. Amit learned from his experience that bar-oriented restaurants won’t ever get a loyal audience and are very time-bound. The most loyal audience is the family segment. In India, there are only two forms of entertainment for families when they go out. Either watch a movie or dine in at a restaurant for a meal. “So, I decided to enter this segment which holds the utmost importance in a country like India,” he says.
Amit and his childhood friend Raghav Jaggi launched their brand “DARYAGANJ – By the Inventors of Butter Chicken & Dal Makhani®” in 2019 to revive the legacy of the late Mr Kundan Lal Jaggi (Raghav’s Grandfather) and bring back the authentic flavours of North Indian cuisine. Amit shares, “We wanted to offer the best North Indian food and overall experience but at a reasonable price.” And that’s what Amit and Raghav are doing.
Food for Five Senses
Key Principles when they conceptualised the Brand:
- Authentic North Indian Family Restaurant– Their Motive was to revive authentic classic North Indian cuisine in a contemporary setting, serving simple North Indian cuisine, keeping it light on the palate to appeal to all generations.
- Average per Cover/Person– They wanted to Price at the sweet spot between economy and luxury.
- Outlet size– Minimum 1800 to 2500 sq. ft. maximum, to keep the demand higher than the supply.
- Complete sensory experience– Evoke all the five senses –Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell andSound to create a positive vibe.
- Maximum options for the customers– Kulfi kiosk and Sweets (Mithai) apart from delivery and dine-in.
- Brand Culture– A strong foundation of integrity, innovation, excellence and empathy with a 360-Degree focus on customers, employees, vendors, and shareholders.
They launched their first outlet in April 2019 and were a runaway success. But, eleven months later, COVID-19 hit the world. They were abruptly shut down just a few days before their first anniversary.
They went through a lot of ups and downs and survived three lockdowns. They pivoted to delivery and launched the world’s first “Five Senses Delivery,” which wasn’t in their initial plan. They strengthened and optimized their systems and processes during the lockdowns and came back stronger. “Today, we are at 331% of our pre-COVID revenue. All our outlets are profitable, with the highest revenue per sq. ft. in our segment. As of now, we have five restaurants and two cloud kitchens and are coming with another 15 outlets this year itself,” adds Amit.
Fine Dining for Foodies
Reflecting on his journey, Amit says he grew up in a family atmosphere where the dinner conversations were always around businesses. His grandfather used to believe a lot in customer satisfaction. He always said that a customer is the most important person and only customer focussed businesses will last for decades. It is what caught Amit’s attention, motivating him.
“DARYAGANJ – By the Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani®” is a brand that Amit and Raghav launched to return to their roots, celebrating the culinary legacy of Kundan Lal Jaggi and the resilience and innovation of the Punjabi refugees who migrated to Delhi after the partition of India.
Amit and Raghav saw a void in the market and thus decided to bring forward a North Indian Casual Dining Restaurant Brand presenting consistent quality food, warm service and an overall experience par excellence, but at a reasonable price. The best-in-class dining experience at DARYAGANJ combines old-world flavours and closely-guarded recipes with the most talented and creative team. The restaurant has been meticulously designed with great attention to detail, evoking all five human senses with a seamless fusion of the past and present.
The Original Hunger Busters
The recipes have been reconstructed to be closest to how Kundan Lal served them in 1947. The idea is to revoke the forgotten flavours on the palate, the unsung flavours of nostalgia. The invented dishes are marked as “The Original 1947 Butter Chicken” and “The Original 1947 Dal Makhani”.
According to Amit, his professional qualities and values are greatly admired by his clients. His Integrity, Perseverance, and the fact that he never gives up are most revered. Amit feels like you could be 50 and still have much to learn; that hunger to learn makes the best of men. Experimentation, innovation and starting new trends are necessary for one and the entire organisation, as a whole, to grow, and that’s what has made them come where they are today. “We have a 360-degree approach towards our team as well. We ensure that all the employees get a Healthy working environment with utmost flexibility, no matter the Back or Front of the House (BOH/FOH),” he says.
Regaling the story of the Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani, Amit says that in 1947, Kundan Lal Jaggi, a refugee from Peshawar, migrated to Delhi after India’s Partition. He launched an iconic restaurant with two other partners in the locality of Daryaganj in New Delhi. At this restaurant, the most iconic North Indian dishes like Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani were invented and served by him. He invented Butter Chicken out of necessity to serve a large group of guests and Dal Makhani was invented on a suggestion by a foodie guest. He also popularized the iconic Tandoori Chicken invented by Mokha Singh in Peshawar in the 1920s. It started a revolution of Tandoori cuisine all over the world.
Sacred Place for Cuisine Lovers
In just a few years of its inception, DARYAGANJ became the most loved brand of North Indian cuisine and has been appreciated by Indian and international Media. The family dining hub blends old-world flavours and closely guarded recipes with the most talented and creative team to create a best-in-class dining experience reminiscent of a bygone era.
DARYAGANJ’s USPs:
- DARYAGANJ differentiates from the competition with an amazing story of a legacy.
- Disrupted the perception of North Indian cuisine as being too heavy and spicy and has been accepted well by all age groups
- It fills the void in the market for a North Indian CDR brand and is on track to develop a market leader.
- Innovation and technology-first approach with automation and data analytics at every step of the customer experience and operations. Strong focus on Processes and Automation.
- A customer-focused brand. A high customer satisfaction rate results in high stickiness for the brand.
- Strong Brand Ethics and Culture. A 360-degree approach towards all the stakeholders – Customers, Employees, Shareholders, Vendors and the Community.
- Implemented a process-driven approach powered by technology. And a strong focus on Human resources.
- Robust unit-level economics with low COGS and high outlet-level EBITDA. Tremendous growth achieved despite three lockdowns.
Original Flavours of a Bygone Era
Amit says that currently, they have the highest revenue per square ft. They have the highest footfall as a 60-seater restaurant, no matter the location. They have a table turnaround of three. It means they serve an average of 180 people daily. It indicates the demand and the customers’ loyalty to the brand. “We have numerous repeat customers because of the quality we serve. We also have the highest ratings on all platforms. Be it Zomato, Swiggy, or Google, moving between 4.2- 4.5. The love received from our customers reflects in the numbers for the brand significantly,” he states.
He furthers that they revived the secret recipes of 1947, thus serving the Original Flavours of a bygone era. The quality of the food they serve is unmatchable. They are very particular about the colour, size and quality of produce they use as ingredients. So the quality remains top-notch and uncompromised.
According to Amit, AI and ML are impacting several industries. For the restaurant industry’s quick service segment, they’ve already made significant inroads. From the use of predictive algorithms for sales and workforce management optimization to the use of chatbots for social media reviews to computer vision for kitchen safety are some examples where DARYAGANJ has adopted these modern technologies. They are also experimenting with a kitchen automation company to further standardize some of their curries.
Surmounting the Belly Obstacles
Sharing the challenges surmounted by them, Amit says that People are the most important resource of an organization. Getting the right people at the right price can be challenging at times. It’s very important to retain these resources and help them with the right motivation to keep them happily committed to the organisation. “We highlight star performers for the month, and they get monetarily awarded too. We are working on starting with ‘Kundan Lal Jaggi’ Scholarships for Employees’ Children who are good at studies/sports and wish to move abroad for further studies. It will be implemented soon.”
Another hurdle they face is sourcing the best quality raw materials. Because this is a very unorganized market for vendors. For it now, they’ve found a solution. They are linked with Hyperpure and Zomato. They supply standardised products across Delhi NCR. “For Example, we are very particular about the quality of our tomatoes. And Zomato makes sure to deliver the exact colour, size and quality of tomatoes we are looking for. So the quality remains top-notch and uncompromised,” says Amit.
In his advice to budding entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into family dining space, Amit appeals never to get affected by failures. They help you get the experience you won’t get any other way. Most importantly, one must be Proactive and have the desired Perseverance. One should always think of failures as stepping stones.
Amit says the route to success is through these Top Mantras –
~Honesty, Loyalty, and Integrity – Honesty and integrity are the key characteristics of a business. They build loyalty and trust in customers, employees, shareholders and vendors.
~Being Proactive – Being in the right place at the right time is what matters. Also, being aware of the changing industry norms is important.
~Keep Evolving– Constant learning, experimentation, innovation and starting new trends are necessary.
~God is in the Details – Attention to small details shows you the hidden mysterious elements.
~Empathy – Putting yourself in others’ shoes helps you understand them better. As the best-performing companies also top the list of the most empathetic companies.
~Perseverance– You need to go after your goals and not give up on them so easily.
~Hard Work– The harder you work, the luckier you get.
On envisioning scaling DARYAGANJ’s operations and offerings in 2023 and beyond, Amit reveals that their mission is to make North Indian cuisine fashionable again!
An Oceanic Feast for the Future
With brand DARYAGANJ’s five CDRs and two CKs, there are plans to open seven more CDRs and another eight CKs in the next year in Delhi NCR, Punjab and North India reaching 22 stores by September 23 and doubling the current revenue.
Amit welcomes you all to DARYAGANJ STORES to have the world-famous original North Indian Cuisine.
The Five CDRs:
- Worldmark 1, Aerocity
- Regal Building, Connaught Place
- Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden
- Ambience Mall, Gurgaon
- DLF Mall of India, Noida, UP
The Two Cloud Kitchens (CKs):
- Rajouri Garden
- Noida
COMING SOON…
Seven CDRs:
- M3M Golf Course Ext, Sec 65 Gurgaon
- Iris Broadway, Sec 85 Gurgaon
- DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj
- Civil Lines
- Sector 26, Chandigarh
- Paragon Waterfront, Ludhiana
- HLP Galleria Mohali
Eight Cloud Kitchens:
- Kailash Colony
- Sushant Lok Gurgaon
- Sec 72 Noida
- Vasant Kunj
- Malviya Nagar
- East Delhi
- North Delhi
- West Delhi
The plan further is to enter South and West India, reaching 70 outlets in three years from now. The brand’s ultimate goal is to open 200 plus stores in the next seven years. Also, there are international expansion plans in Thailand, Singapore, UAE, Canada and Australia. All these stores will be company owned.
DARYAGANJ’s Hall of Fame:
Amit concludes, “We have won ten awards and one significant recognition in the last year itself.”
~Three Food Connoisseurs India Awards –
- Restaurant with the Best Butter Chicken 2022
- Best Packaging by a Restaurant 2022
- Restaurateur of the year (North) 2022
~Two The Big F Awards –
- Best North Indian Restaurant 2022
- Restaurateur of the year 2022
~Two ET Hospitality World –
- Best North Indian Restaurant 2022
- Best Family-Friendly Restaurant 2022
~Two Restaurant India Awards–
- Best Indian Cuisine Restaurant Chain 2022
- Restaurateur of the year 2022
~One MSME Award – Entrepreneur of the year (food Service) 2022
*Brand DARYAGANJ also featured on Shark Tank India, a milestone it reached in just three and a half years.
