Hard Rock Cafe sans bar to open in Pune on Dec 10

Food and beverages company JSM Corp, which owns the exclusive franchise for the Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) chain in India besides hi-end restaurants such as Shiro and IndoChine, is planning to expand its presence in the metros and introduce new formats and cuisines.

The plans include expanding HRC, the Singapore-based IndoChine restaurant and bar brand and its in-house Japanese restaurant Shiros to other metros besides introducing several other brands in fine dining.

To begin with, after a delay of almost a year, HRC will now open its doors to the public in Pune on December 10, but it will have no bar. Also, Shiros will be launched in UB City  Mall, Bengaluru, simultaneously.

“The ongoing slowdown and the expected correction in the real estate business besides the drop in steel and labour costs will be beneficial for us to expand our footprint in the metros,” said Jay Singh, managing director, JSM Corp.

HRC is present in Mumbai, Bengaluru and at the Hyderabad International Airport. “We will open HRC in metros such as Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi in 2009,” said Singh.

“The average investment for launching one hi-end restaurant is in the range of Rs 1-4 crore depending on the location,” said Singh. However he was reluctant to share the exact investments that the company has planned for the coming year.

Despite a liquidity crunch and slowdown in the economy, Singh is confident of being able to raise the money for the planned expansions and maintain his growth rates.

“The company has been growing at 100 per cent year-on-year for the last three years and we will maintain this growth in the coming year even though our sales per outlet will reduce.”