Hotel Saravana Bhavan is the largest South Indian restaurant chain in the world, founded in 1981 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. They operate 33 locations in India (24 in Chennai) and 78 across 22 countries in Southeast Asia,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, New Zealand, the Middle East, Europe, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

History

P. Rajagopal opened a tiny grocery shop on the outskirts of the city. In 1992, Rajagopal on his visits to Singapore observed the functioning of the multinational fast food joints like McDonald's and used them as a model. By the 1990s, the Saravana Bhavan chain spread throughout neighbourhoods in Chennai. In 2000, Saravana Bhavan opened its first branch outside India, in Dubai, with a large number of Indian expatriates. It eventually expanded to several major cities including Paris, Frankfurt, London, New York City, Dallas, Toronto,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Doha, and Auckland. While the restaurants have gained popularity among non-Indians, they mostly target the South Asian expatriate population. They are sometimes referred to as "canteen-like joints strictly aimed at Indian expatriates missing a taste of home". It is considered to be a high volume, low margin venture which is labour-intensive. Saravana Bhavan sends workers from India and America to work in their foreign branches. The overseas outlets are run by franchisees. This famous South Indian restaurant chain currently serves in many countries worldwide, that are: India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Oman, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Bahrain, UAE, United Kingdom, USA, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Qatar, Hong Kong, Thailand, Netherlands, and Sweden. Saravana Bhavan in United Kingdom has restaurants in East Ham (

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

), Harrow (

), Ilford (

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

), Leicester Square ( West End of London), Southall ( West London) and Tooting (

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

). The branches of the biggest South Indian restaurant chain in the United Kingdom are mostly known to be situated in London.

References

External links

*
Saravana Bhavan as one of the top 50 restaurants
in Australia
Saravana Bhavan Stockholm
{{Authority control Vegetarian restaurants in India Restaurants in Chennai Restaurants in Delhi South Indian cuisine Restaurants established in 1981 Fast-food chains of India Catering and food service companies of India Restaurants in India Indian restaurants outside India Vegetarian restaurants in Singapore Restaurant chains in India Companies based in Chennai 1981 establishments in Tamil Nadu

History

See also

References

External links