| MTR, the legendary restaurant with an eight-decade-old heritage, is stepping out of hometown Bangalore for the first time and looking at setting foot in Kolkata.
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| Bangalore, so well-known now for its devotion to the culture of eating out, got the first taste of it from Mavalli Tiffin Rooms. Today visitors turn to it foremost for an authentic taste of Karnataka food.
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| Hemamalini Maiya, managing partner, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, confirming this move to open in Kolkata said: “Yes, we are taking this first step. We are testing the water there and trying to adopt a model for our future expansion. If things go as planned, we should open our first restaurant in Kolkata within the next six months.”
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| For this expansion MTR is talking to a couple of people close to the Maiya family who will be in the front-end of the business. “We are not talking to any corporates for pacts. We know the people there and we are proceeding with them. The entire kitchen management and quality control will be with us,” Maiya affirmed. She added that based on how this move pans out, MTR will look at spreading out nationally, though there is no specific road map for expansion.
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| The outlet in Kolkata will have the same menu as in Bangalore such as delicious dosas, rava idlis and the rest on which two generations of Bangaloreans have grown up on.
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| After taking this first step out of Bangalore, MTR might also look at going overseas. “There are a few proposals before us, but we are not rushing ahead. The entry into Kolkata is a test for us and let’s see how it goes,” she added.
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| On the discussions going on between various investors and MTR Foods, a separate business, which is being handled by Maiya’s uncle, Sadanand Maiya, she said that the MTR restaurant business was not involved.
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| She, however, highlighted that she owns the brand and dismissed market speculation that there are differences within the family over royalty payment if a divestment takes place.
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| "We are not aware of how the discussions are going on and we have not at all come to the point of discussing the issue of brand," she stressed. |
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