“Only the name has changed. Everything else remains the same,” Murali N Bhat stresses repeatedly through our conversation. He also has boards placed at vantage points in his restaurants stating the same. The restaurants in question are five franchisee outlets of popular Chennai-based food chain Sangeetha Veg Restaurant, which have now been rebranded Geetham.
Over a dry fruit falooda, which the 53-year-old describes among the restaurant’s best-sellers, Murali who is Geetham’s managing director, says, “We have a loyal customer base, for whom the ambience and taste will be the same.” The Sangeetha restaurants in Navalur, Thoraipakkam, T Nagar, Medavakkam and 100 Feet Road (Velachery) are now Geetham — they account for about ₹110 crore turnover of the brand’s ₹250 crore business. “In the food business, every day is a new day. You cannot have an off day at any point of time, because that means that you have lost an entire family of customers,” says Murali.
So, he is trying innovation to expand his vision. There are going to be 12 more dosa varieties on offer — including Mysore masala dosa and paneer masala dosa — in the outlets, which currently have more than 400 South Indian, North Indian and Chinese dishes on their 36 page menu. They are also focussing on specialities like honey chilli gobi and paneer roll masala so “there is something for everyone in the family,” says Murali.
