Buddha-Bar, the iconic Parisian bar and restaurant chain, is setting up shop in India with its first restaurant in Delhi -but with one difference. After a recent controversy over its name and the Buddha statue at its Jakarta restaurant, the owners have decided to create a new brand for India called B-Bar.
"We do not want to hurt any feelings, so we backed off," says Franck Fortet, vice-president, development, at George V Eatertainment,
the group that owns the Buddha-Bar brand. Aware that a similar backlash could happen in India, where the Buddha found enlightenment, the group opted for the safer B-Bar option. To be spread across over 20,000 sq ft at the Select City Walk mall in Delhi's Saket area, the B-Bar will not have the Japanese Buddha statue seen in other Buddha-Bar branches across the globe. It will instead feature a peaceful resting Samurai, sitting in a similar stance. Globally, Buddha-Bar, on which B-Bars will be modeled, are known for their posh interiors, mood lighting, large spaces and the famous Buddha statue as a centre piece. They are an amalgamation of a restaurant, bar and a lounge, all in one. Buddha-Bars can be found in Monte Carlo, Paris, Kiev, London, Monaco, Prague, Budapest, and Washington DC among other cities. The Buddha-Bar near Champs-Elysees in Paris has a 40-foot tall statue of a meditating Buddha. In India, George V Eatertainment has signed up franchise agreements for B-Bars in Delhi, Bangalore and Goa with BB Hospitality Ventures, which is owned by entrepreneur Kunal Lalani. He runs radio cab service Mega Cabs and advertising agency Crayons. Lalani says his company will invest over 100 crore on the Delhi restaurant and two others in Bangalore and Goa. The Goa restaurant will be housed in a Buddha-Bar hotel that the partners are planning to set up soon. "We are also looking at setting up a Buddha-Bar hotel in a heritage hotel property in Rajasthan," says Lalani. According to the National Restaurant Association of India, the size of the Indian restaurant industry is close to 43,000 crore and it is growing at 6% a year. It expects the industry to grow to 62,500 crore by 2015. Of this, 16-20% comes from the organised restaurant segment.
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the group that owns the Buddha-Bar brand. Aware that a similar backlash could happen in India, where the Buddha found enlightenment, the group opted for the safer B-Bar option. To be spread across over 20,000 sq ft at the Select City Walk mall in Delhi's Saket area, the B-Bar will not have the Japanese Buddha statue seen in other Buddha-Bar branches across the globe. It will instead feature a peaceful resting Samurai, sitting in a similar stance. Globally, Buddha-Bar, on which B-Bars will be modeled, are known for their posh interiors, mood lighting, large spaces and the famous Buddha statue as a centre piece. They are an amalgamation of a restaurant, bar and a lounge, all in one. Buddha-Bars can be found in Monte Carlo, Paris, Kiev, London, Monaco, Prague, Budapest, and Washington DC among other cities. The Buddha-Bar near Champs-Elysees in Paris has a 40-foot tall statue of a meditating Buddha. In India, George V Eatertainment has signed up franchise agreements for B-Bars in Delhi, Bangalore and Goa with BB Hospitality Ventures, which is owned by entrepreneur Kunal Lalani. He runs radio cab service Mega Cabs and advertising agency Crayons. Lalani says his company will invest over 100 crore on the Delhi restaurant and two others in Bangalore and Goa. The Goa restaurant will be housed in a Buddha-Bar hotel that the partners are planning to set up soon. "We are also looking at setting up a Buddha-Bar hotel in a heritage hotel property in Rajasthan," says Lalani. According to the National Restaurant Association of India, the size of the Indian restaurant industry is close to 43,000 crore and it is growing at 6% a year. It expects the industry to grow to 62,500 crore by 2015. Of this, 16-20% comes from the organised restaurant segment.
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