This setting is post-COVID,” Zorawar Kalra cautions me, settling into his now-familiar Table d’hôte at the first Farzi Café ever opened. This outlet, which has since unwittingly launched a thousand imitations in contemporary ‘fun’ Indian dining, and opened at DLF Cyber Hub in the latter’s infancy, has now become the muse as well as a space for musing for the CEO of Massive Restaurants.
“There’s this corner at the café; as soon as you enter, it’s the corner on the outside seating on the left. Of late, it has become my personal space, which the staff keeps empty for me when they know I am coming over,” says Kalra gleefully, like a restaurateur with a secret. “They disable the speaker right above the table while I am there, because it’s still in the middle of an operational restaurant.
And it has become my main spot for sitting and chilling and ideating, as well as having meetings with people from outside, as well as in-house meetings.” This ritual only started post-lockdown. “I don’t like sitting in my office too much anymore, because it’s at low-strength with a lot of the team working out of home,” reveals Kalra, adding that those in operations are now encouraged to visit the company’s various brand outlets and convene back at said table during the week for updates and suggestions.
“I always had that space in Farzi, but I would never use it as I am these days,” points out Kalra, adding, “Earlier, I used to go to The Pavilion at DLF Golf Course to have meetings and brainstorm new projects within the team as well as vendors and potential partners.” It is a lovely, classically decorated space, which used to earlier serve as his space, for his business of pleasure and the pleasure of business.
Now, Kalra is taking advantage of the fractious calm of F&B outlets these days and revisiting his roots. “My favourite restaurant of our brand, Made in Punjab, is located right next door and so I keep ordering from there, and of course, run quality assurance checks,” winks Kalra, while also pointing out the conveniently located Starbucks outside, right opposite to the restaurant.
“I have my lunch, grab a Starbucks in between, have a drink at the restaurant, and then go home. Our place is nearby, making my corner at Farzi super convenient to spend a day at work without going into the office.” Kalra adds that like a good parent, he doesn’t play favourites when it comes to visiting his restaurants; apart from his pied-á-terre at Farzi, Cyber Hub. “I am here at least thrice a week, whether it’s to have a space to think in or have meetings with the team,” he concludes.
Tabular Rasa
Kalra confides that his team is encouraged to visit the company’s various brand outlets and convene back at said table during the week for updates and suggestions.