With fitness regimes, workout programs, and structured diet options going up, my tendency to go rogue and eat more is also going up; all thanks to the innumerable, tempting, diverse food outlets that spring up everyday. They are so beautiful, how can I resist? If you walk down ‘12th Main road’ in Indiranagar, you will be awed at the number of cafes and restaurants that keep popping up next to each other, giving you endless options to choose from. The cuisines are plenty ranging from Indian, Italian, Mexican, Lebanese, Thai and many more. It’s a foodie’s paradise. Considering the rate at which new outlets come up, food bloggers and photographers will have enough content to keep them busy too. All this said and done, there is a looming question from a business point of view. How many of them are sustainable in the long run?
When I say new outlets come up very often, it usually replaces an old one. It is simple math to figure how new restaurants can emerge in an already saturated environment. Well the land is not getting any bigger so obviously it comes down to the survival of the fittest. With rising competition in the food industry, it is the right combination of price, quantity, quality and uniqueness that matters. Of course, the type of service offered goes without saying. It’s interesting how people have an increased palette to taste something new and different these days. With a good disposable income, money is usually not a restricting factor but that depends on demographics too. By demographics, I mean how certain parts of the city have a better reception to certain cuisines and type of meat or how the age of the audience influences the outlets’ reception.
Coming back to my favourite hub for food, Indiranagar has been a hotspot for experimenting with restaurants and all types of startups. High rent of commercial spaces here makes it a challenging game to start something new. The stakes are high and careful contemplation is a necessity before you plunge into a new venture. I have seen tiny cafes that are put up in the passage of big buildings. Not sure, how that appeals or invites people but that exists. I have also seen back-to-back food outlets that are in different plots but for the sake of space utilization, they look completely crammed next to each other displaying united love on the outside but masking unintentional rivalry on the inside. All said and done, some thrive whereas some fail. I have seen restaurants that last for nothing more than 3 months before they pull down the shutters. I am not sure if we can attribute luck to how these outlets fare or if you can know beforehand what may work. But, it is definitely a leap of faith that one must take to see how the venture unfolds.
As choosy customers we all may be intrigued to select a place from a long list of outlets to experiment from, but we may be completely oblivious of the hard work and dedication that would have gone into building it. So, in order to serve justice let us vow to try out every restaurant in our neighbourhood. Did someone say diet? I’m sorry I can’t hear you.
