From Tirunelveli to T. Nagar

Quality, quantity and pricing have helped Shri Balaajee Bhavan gain seven addresses in Chennai, says its owner T. Ramasubbu

June 09, 2017 06:08 pm | Updated 06:08 pm IST

Let me admit it — it was not easy getting an interview with T. Ramasubbu, the owner of Shri Balajee Bhavan. “He is busy” was all the answer I received during my two-month attempt to connect with him. When I finally managed to get his appointment, I was late by 10 minutes, thanks to the unanticipated traffic; and when I was close to our meeting point — the T. Nagar outlet of the restaurant — he was already on his way to the Chromepet outlet. I was disappointed. However, when I finally spoke with him, my resentment turned into awe. His busy schedule is one of the reasons for the 25-year-old restaurant to continue to be popular with food lovers in Chennai.

Early start

M.S. Tiruvenkadam, Ramsubbu's father, was only 11-years-old when he was first introduced to the restaurant industry. He worked with his elder brothers and eventually started his restaurant in Colombo.

“Since then, restaurants have become our hereditary business,” says Ramasubbu.

With a significant amount of experience, Tiruvenkadam returned to India to start a restaurant named Madras Cafe, in Tirunelveli, in the 1950s. And in the 1970s, he migrated to Tiruchirappalli and started Hotel Brindavan.

At this point, Ramasubbu assisted his father in running the business.

“I was pursuing my bachelor's degree in business administration when my father started the restaurant in Tiruchirappalli. Post-studies, I took up a job as a clerk-cashier at the State Bank of India in Kulithalai. Before long, I took a transfer to Tiruchirappalli, where I assisted my father with his restaurant, after the banking hours,” recounts Ramasubbu.

The family then shifted their base to Chennai, where they would start a fresh chapter in their business, with Shri Balaajee Bhavan at Pondi Bazaar in 1992.

The expansion

Shri Balaajee Bhavan started off with a compact menu, serving south Indian cuisine.

“Our restaurant in Tiruchirappalli offered only dosas, idlis and rice. In Chennai, however, we learnt that people also preferred tandoori items and sweets. So, we brought chefs from north India and tweaked the menu to cater to all categories of people. The menu today includes North Indian food, tandoori items, chaats and ice creams as well,” he explains.

As the brothers joined the family venture, Shri Balaajee Bhavan expanded. In 1996, a second outlet was opened in Anna Nagar, which is headed by T. Ravindran, one of the brothers of Ramasubbu. The third branch in Saidapet was simultaneously opened by another brother, T. Venkatesan. “We studied and worked in some organisations before joining the restaurant business,” adds Ramasubbu, whose son-in-law Ramesh heads the Ambattur branch and jointly opened the Chromepet branch with Ramasubbu.

After Mogappair, their seventh and latest branch was started in Potheri, which, Ramasubbu says, will be headed by his son Arun Prakash, an IT professional.

Quality matters

The Tiruvenkadams have always been fastidious about quality, quantity and pricing — the three factors that constitute their Unique Selling Point.

“It is my father's knowledge in restaurants and recipes that helped me improve the quality of the food we serve. My father, who is 82 years old today, is an expert in south Indian food. He taught me what type and amount of chilli powder and masala powder would add to the taste of a sambar and make it aromatic. These are the recipes we have been following since our restaurant days in Tirunelveli and Tiruchirappalli. With these lessons, we, in turn, trained our staff. My father and I used to taste the food every day and only then would we serve it to our customers,” he elucidates.

Ramasubbu continues to follow this ritual. Whenever he is in the city, he makes it a point to visit all the three branches that are under him — T. Nagar, Chromepet and Potheri — every day. He takes stock of the everyday affairs along with the branch manager, tastes the food and inspects the kitchen.

“I do this for self-satisfaction,” he says. This explains why he could not find time for the interview, for two months.

(A column about entities that started in a small way in a neighbourhood and grew bigger.)

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