Shivaji Military Hotel expands to Hyderabad

Bengaluru’s 90-year-old Shivaji Military Hotel is set to open its first branch in Hyderabad on January 19. It will be a franchise outlet.

The iconic hotel, located in Jayanagar, is known for its non-vegetarian fare, its naati (country) chicken donne biryani in particular. It is open daily from 8 am to 3 pm.

“We have many customers from Hyderabad who have been asking us to open a branch in their city,” its owner Rajiv said, commenting on their first-ever expansion.

Rajiv’s friend Ajay Karthik had been requesting him for a franchise in Hyderabad for the past four years, a request he finally accepted.

“We trained cooks (for the Hyderabad outlet) in Bengaluru for six months. One of our staff will also work there,” added Rajiv.

While the eatery in Bengaluru is housed in a vintage stone building, the Hyderabad branch, coming up in Madhapur, will be a posh restaurant built in the ‘henchina mane; (house with a tiled roof) style.

Rajiv says he has received requests for opening franchises in other cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai.

Although the hotel was officially established in 1935, its history dates back further. “It was set up in 1908 by my grandfather,” Rajiv says.

The hotel business was passed on to his father and is now run by Rajiv and his brother Lokesh.

“I want my kids to take the legacy forward. I have taken up the task of training them,” he says.