True Palate Cafe, the parent company for renowned hospitality brands one8 Commune (restro-bar by Virat Kohli), Neuma India (Karan Johar’s restaurant), and Pincode (an Indian cuisine restaurant by celebrity chef Kunal Kapur), has recently launched its first Pincode outlet in Dubai and will soon see its advent to Delhi. Incidentally, one8 Commune is now heading internationally with its first outlet set to launch in Dubai, followed by further expansion in Bangalore, Gurgaon and other Indian cities.
Sumitt Wahall, COO, True Palate Cafe Pvt Ltd, talks to us about his overall hospitality journey, the current expansion plans of the group, and goals which he wishes to accomplish in the coming years…
- Can you give us a brief on your hospitality journey so far?
I commenced my career with Marriott Welcome Hotel, Saket, in 2002 and ever since then, I have worked across renowned brands in India like The Imperial, Shangri-La Hotel, Hyatt Regency Delhi, Sahara Star Hotel Mumbai amongst others.
Before joining True Palate Cafe, I was spearheading Azure Hospitality as the President for 11 years, where I looked after the operations for both India and Nepal. It was in July 2021, that I joined True Palate Cafe Pvt Ltd as the COO.
- How did True Palate Café come into place?
The company was launched around three years ago, but their restaurants opened only one-and-a-half years ago. Under the True Palate brand, we currently have six outlets of one8 Commune (three in Delhi, one each in Juhu, Kolkata and Pune respectively). We also have Neuma in Mumbai and Pincode, which has been launched in Dubai and is the most recent addition to our portfolio.
- What are your expansion plans for True Palate Cafe’s portfolio?
True Palate Café has extensive plans for expansion. We are in the process of launching our next one8 property by the end of January ‘23 while the Gurgaon outlet is scheduled to open by the end of February ‘23. We are also looking forward to adding new cities like Hyderabad, Indore, Dehradun and Jaipur to our expansion plans.
We are very close to launching Pincode in Delhi with the first outlet at Civil Lines, followed by Saket launch. Both these launches should happen within the first quarter of 2023.
- What does 2023 look like?
The last three years of the pandemic have been an eye opener and a testing phase for the entire F&B and hospitality industry. With a major hit to our industry, we hope to recover and move forward with new offerings both in the food as well as the kind of restaurants. With our extensive expansion plans, we are certain that it will generate a lot of job opportunities while catering to the wide audience and demographics that we aim to target, both in India and abroad.
- Any F&B trends that you swear by?
The F&B industry relies on innovation while keeping up with the needs and demands of the consumers. The culinary experiences are evolving day by day, where consumers are levitating towards new cuisines while looking to keep the comfort level intact. Be it North Indian cuisine or Italian, every dish today has been modernized while ensuring the quality and taste are not compromised. Hence, our aim is to modernize the existing dishes while bringing in our own curated dishes to stand out in the market.
- What major difference do you see while running a restaurant chain in India v/s Abroad?
In India, the manpower is much more affordable as compared to abroad, making it easier to operate in India. Another factor that eases the overall operations in India are the official processes and licenses which are much harder to follow and achieve elsewhere. Last but not the least, the location of the restaurants, be it in India or abroad, is a major factor. However, it is undeniable that abroad, the prices of the properties are on a much higher side as compared to India, making the scale of the project smaller, especially for the F&B and hospitality industry.
