AA Hospitality to expand footprint

With innovation and concept at the forefront of his business endeavours, aspiring restaurateur Amit Ahuja is set to launch his second venture Misu, a pan-Asian restaurant in Bengaluru.

The new restaurant will share premises with The Open Box (TOB), Ahuja’s maiden venture under AA Hospitality.

A crowd favourite since its launch in late 2015, The Open Box broke even within the first seven months of its launch owing to its discerning clientele ranging from college students to professionals and families to young club hoppers.

“As for my learning from the industry — it is not about recovering investments from an outlet. It is about investing in a brand over a period of time. Once the brand achieves its own identity and recognition, it takes care of its own footfall,” said Ahuja, in an interaction with DH.

AA Hospitality is set to launch two more Misu outlets in the city by the end of this year. Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune will be the right markets to expand into after Bengaluru, he said.

The company is also gearing up to launch The Open Box 2.0  in the next two months. About the decision to revamp TOB, Ahuja said, “TOB has come to be known for its quirky design, but we want to stay ahead of the curve as we foresee new concepts in the industry. Its like a software upgradation, which has to happen on a regular basis to keep the customer engaged.” The year 2017 will also see the company launching its second TOB in the city.

Further, the company is conceptualising its third brand in the Indian cuisine category. Without divulging into the details of it, he said, “We want to do authentic Indian cuisine the modern way. We are looking at an early 2018 launch for this concept.”

The self-funded company is closing FY2016-17 with Rs 9 crore in revenues and hopes to touch Rs 12 crore in the next year, and this number only considers the restaurants that have already been launched, he said.