CHENNAI: No, I don’t drink alcohol” is not something you will expect to hear from the man behind most of the happening bars in the city. Ensconced in the cosy interiors of Thirsty Crow, Nungambakkam, we wait for Arasu Dennis, the man-of-the-hour every Friday and Saturday night, to finish his weekly roundup of the place before he joins us. “You don’t drink, and you run many bars?” we ask. And he laughs, “I am not even tempted to!”
If you don’t already know Arasu Dennis, it’s probably because you’ve missed the biggest parties in town since 2013, when he first set up his independent venture — Illusions. And since then, everything he has touched has turned to gold. Small World, Big Bang Theory, Sudaka, Thirsty Crow and Boats followed soon, and within the last four years, he has succeeded in putting Chennai on the party-map of India. “With Illusions, I started a concept of standalone bar businesses, and broke the myth that to open a successful bar, you need to be an established brand,” Arasu says.
The most sought-after bar and restaurant consultant in Chennai, Arasu’s beginnings in life were far from luxurious, and perhaps that’s the reason for his success. Working from the young age of 13, he says he has been a mechanic, tailor, worked as a pharmacy assistant and then even owned a pharmacy by the age of 17. “Many people don’t know that I have a D Pharm degree!” he laughs.
Financing his own education, he pursued a course in hotel management, but initially found it difficult to start from scratch. “I swept floors, was a waiter, a bartender, and wiped tables,” he recalls. On his first day of One Day Catering service at a five-star restaurant, the first customer he served was Rajnikanth. “In those days, there were no selfies or social media, so I don’t know how to tell the world that I was serving Rajnikanth for one-and-a-half hours!” he laughs. It was at Park Sheraton, in 1999, he recalls the date instantly. And from then on, he realised that this was what the hotel business was about — seeing people, making contacts and getting to know them.
Years of round-the-clock hard work seems to have paid off well, as Arasu Dennis now does consulting for restaurants and bars, as part of AD consulting. “I create brands, run it for few years, and then keep moving forward. That’s good as I can keep on creating more brands,” he shares.
His resto-bars are known for their unique themes and great food — something that not all bars in the city can claim. Travelling across India, inspirations for new concepts arise from his travels. Arasu is known for Chennai’s first beach-bar — Boats, on Besant Nagar. “Reaching the people was very easy — it’s the only resto-bar on the beach, in Chennai!” he laughs. His venture, Sudaka, is also credited as the first South-American resto-bar in Asia, with the suggestion of his friends form Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru — his connections go world-wide indeed.
With over 15 years of experience in the restaurant biz, we ask him the reason behind his success. “Almost 80% of my time I spend on my job, and I love it. Though now I have to go home often because my daughter questions my whereabouts. I’m scared of her more than my wife!” he laughs. He also feels that customer satisfaction should be given utmost importance, and most of his customers become friends eventually. “Sometimes my customers share more with me than their own wives, probably, after a few drinks,” he laughs.
So what’s next for Arasu? “A few more themed restobars are in the pipeline. And I’m also now trying to tone down from the bar-scene and get into food business,” he laughs. Being a teetotaller bar consultant manager has its perks, he adds — he always advises his customers to not drive after drinks. “I can’t just spoil people, right. Need to do some good too,” he winks, before rushing off for another meeting.