A 19-year-old school dropout, who was just setting up his first venture, envisioned what nobody thought will make him a business tycoon in the hospitality industry. It is the passion and creative streak of Priyank Sukhija, CEO & MD of First Fiddle F&B Pvt. Ltd. that makes him the most watched out restaurateur of today’s time. With 25+ operational outlets and a yearly turnover of over INR 200 crores, the charismatic man is all set to touch a massive record of INR 500 crores by 2020. Here’s a glimpse of his inspiring journey.
THE BEGINNING
His success story began in 1999 when he opened his first venture, a fine dining restaurant, Lazeez Affaire at a family-owned home at Malcha Marg, New Delhi following it up with club RPM at Priya Complex. Hailing from a family of lawyers, Priyank was the first in his family to venture into business. Little did he know was that he will alter Delhi’s hospitality industry forever and he did it with 35 different outlets over a span of 17 years. At present his most talked about brands in the hospitality industry are Lord of the Drinks, Tamasha, The Flying Saucer Cafe, Warehouse Cafe, Teddy Boy and many more. “I realized that nothing makes me happier than eating and serving a delicious meal. Food, music, and innovation were what always inspired me and hence I ventured into an area that could fulfill this passion,” says Priyank. As the pioneer of casual dining in the capital, he brought attention to the Hauz Khas Village with Café Out of the Box. “My restaurants are known for providing an experience and this makes them stand apart from the crowd. I believe in the ‘vibe’ of the restaurant and that is what sets them apart. All my restaurants have an extensive menu and have dishes and drinks that can be enjoyed by a 15-year-old to a 70-year-old.”
BUSINESS APPROACH
Priyank’s business model is peculiar and has helped him in becoming the business behemoth of the hospitality industry. He takes charge of important responsibilities and fulfills them perfectly- from executing the concept, hiring chefs, restaurant staff, and marketing. “I love to compete with my own concepts and experiments. The hunger to do so helps me to create a new product every time. Also, a lot is affected by the detailing I do for my restaurants, starting from the crockery being used to the biggest chandeliers seen!” Right product, right location, right pricing everything holds an equal importance.
MOTIVE
With a comparatively bigger pocket size and the will to innovate has pushed Priyank’s initiative of expansion at a faster pace. “In the age, when so many groups are rolling out restaurants faster than your local baker makes donuts, my goal is that each restaurant feels handcrafted, and have their own soul”, says Priyank. The current environment is the most dynamic one where customers are well traveled and exposed and are keen to experiment with the food.
FUTURE FILE
Priyank has 4 new projects in the pipeline that are expected to launch in the next 3 months. His latest massive launch was the trio restaurants spread across 15,000 sq ft space in Kamala Mills, Mumbai with Lord of the Drinks, that has the biggest bar in Mumbai and the longest bar in Asia. Lord of the Drinks saw a grand launch in Pune while Flying Saucer Café made its way to the city of Nawaabs, Lucknow. Apart from this, ‘Dragonfly’ in collaboration with Badshah, a nightclub space is soon to be launched in the JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai that will revolutionize the nightclub culture. Dragonfly and Plum by Bent Chair will be launching in Delhi in Aerocity while Plum by Bent Chair will be launched in Janpath, New Delhi. For 2018, 7 more restaurants are expected to open and further contributing to the revolution that he has created where Chennai and Bengaluru will soon see the light of first fiddle restaurants. “Mumbai is my new favourite and I intend to open at least 12-15 iconic restaurants in next one year”, Priyank said. “Expansion to other cities of India and global expansion is what I am looking at. Our target revenue for the year 2020 is 500 crores and we will work aggressively towards achieving that,” he added.
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