244 stories in the archive
Church Street SOCIAL, the first outlet of the SOCIAL brand, has reopened in Bengaluru after a complete renovation. The redesign opens the façade to the street and keeps the grungy look, leaving imperfections intact under what the design calls radical vandalism. Local touches include retro Kannada hand-painted signs, a street-side arcade station and South Indian comic culture.
Telangana's food safety body TG SAFE shut four food establishments in Nizamabad district and suspended the FSSAI licences of 13 others after inspections of 28 units on November 3. Inspectors found pest infestations, unhygienic kitchens, expired products and improper storage. Officials collected 26 samples and seized or discarded 9,645 kg worth ₹17.28 lakh.
Colombian specialty coffee brand Libertario Coffee Co. & Roasters is opening a flagship at DLF Summit Plaza on Golf Course Road, Gurugram, on 3 November. This is its second Indian outlet, after the Greater Kailash 2 site in New Delhi that opened in July 2025. It also houses the brand's first in-house roastery in India.
Wendy's India has launched The Great Burger Scam, a campaign with five globally inspired burgers at prices from Rs 59 to Rs 99. The flavours are Chipotle, Chimichurri, Korean, Teriyaki and Makhani, in both vegetarian and chicken versions. The range is sold at dine-in restaurants and through online delivery platforms. It arrived in November 2026.
India's food regulator, FSSAI, has proposed allowing recycled polyethylene and polypropylene in packaging that touches food. A draft notification issued Monday would amend the 2018 packaging rules, provided safety standards are met. The material must come from chemical recycling via the monomer route and its end product must be considered equivalent to virgin plastic.
Colombian specialty coffee brand Libertario has opened a flagship café at DLF Summit Plaza in Gurugram, its second Indian outlet after Greater Kailash 2 in New Delhi. Opened November 3, it brings in-house roasting to India for the first time. Guests can join a coffee omakase, a guided tasting of bean varieties, origins and brewing methods.
BuCo. has opened a café in Bengaluru, bringing Mangalorean food and filter coffee into a contemporary café format. Every day from 8 am, bakes, breakfast and filter kaapi are served, with ingredients like ghee, jaggery and ragi. Bestsellers include the Mr Bob's Classic Fried Chicken Burger and Filter Kaapi Tiramisu.
Burger King India has rolled out a limited-edition menu nationwide, themed on Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday. The centrepiece is the Doomsday Whopper, with black glazed buns coloured using plant-derived dyes. Orders arrive in themed packaging, and a tumbler is the first collectible. Customers can pre-book a bundled meal on the Burger King app, backed by a 360-degree campaign.
Online bakery platform Bakingo reported FY26 revenue of Rs 405.8 crore, up 35% year on year, but its net loss more than doubled to Rs 36.9 crore. Total expenses rose 38.7% to Rs 450.5 crore, with raw materials, advertising and platform fees among the biggest costs. Faering Capital, already an investor, put in Rs 100 crore in August 2026.
Indian bakery chain Theobroma has opened a new store at Dadar West in Mumbai, which its business development general manager Azhar Punjabi called a strategic step in its expansion plans. The brand now runs over 334 stores across more than 60 Indian cities. In July 2025 ChrysCapital acquired a 90 percent stake for INR 2,410 crore.
Restaurant investors are moving from rapid expansion toward profitable growth, with strong unit economics. Warmup Ventures' Sharad Bansal points to everyday categories like South Indian food, biryani, coffee and tea, plus cuisine-led brands such as Korean, Japanese and Mexican. An angel investor, Hari Balasubramanian, says investors remain cautious but new entrants are arriving.
Telangana's GST department has flagged more than 100 restaurants, most in Hyderabad, for collecting tax after their registrations were cancelled or for claiming credits they were barred from taking. Nearly 10 have been found charging GST without registration. Around 80 eateries on the concessional 5 per cent rate, which bars input tax credit, are in the group.
Om Sweets has opened a premium retail store on Golf Course Road in Gurugram, offering sweets, savouries and a wider vegetarian menu in a contemporary format. The store targets everyday meals, festive purchases and gifting. The brand, present in Gurugram, Faridabad, Delhi, Sohna and Palwal, traces its roots to the early 1940s.
India's antitrust regulator, the CCI, has cleared the combination of Sapphire Foods India and Devyani International, which would bring KFC and Pizza Hut franchise operations under one structure. Devyani confirmed the clearance in an exchange filing and said it is awaiting the detailed order. Other statutory steps remain before the merger takes effect.
Zomato has added a pay-on-delivery fee for food orders paid in cash, shown separately from platform fees, packaging charges and GST. It is around Rs 5 on some orders, with reports of Rs 6, Rs 7 and up to Rs 20, and digital payments are exempt. The move comes as rivals such as Rapido and Flipkart push into food delivery.
Malad West in Mumbai now has Bella, a vegetarian all-day restaurant created through a collaboration of Address Hospitality and Suved Lohia Hospitality. Dishes draw on Continental, Asian and modern Indian flavours. Inside, guests find a glass-covered courtyard, a bar styled on old European clubs, a Blue Den that feels like a library, and a private room for dining.
Telangana's GST department flagged more than 100 restaurants and eateries, mostly in Hyderabad, after AI analytics uncovered suspected input tax credit misuse and unlawful tax collection. About 80 eateries on the concessional 5 percent regime allegedly claimed credit on inputs, while 10 of around 100 firms with cancelled registrations were found collecting GST. Tax impact is being assessed.
14°41° Pizzeria has opened a new flagship near Hutatma Chowk in Fort, Mumbai, on 26 October 2026. The roughly 2,000 square foot space seats 60 to 70 and has a fully glazed kitchen where diners can watch hand-stretched dough go into a green-tiled wood-fired oven. The brand had closed its older Fort outlet after a decade there.
Legacy Indian restaurants are updating menus while protecting the signature dishes behind their reputations. Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhavan added Pie Idli, a twist on idli-sambar, and Shiv Sagar is testing new items beside its pav bhaji and dosas. Nagarjuna keeps its menu small and tests dishes with regulars first. Records show about 100 to 120 legacy restaurants across India.
Bombay Exhibition Centre hosted drinktec India, PackMach Asia and ProFood India from 28 to 30 October, drawing 21,665 visitors. Over 320 exhibitors from 11 countries filled 30,000 square metres across Halls 3, 4 and 6, nearly 40% more space than the last edition. Exhibitors presented more than 4,000 product and technology launches.
Maharashtra has challenged certain FSSAI rules and orders in the Bombay High Court, arguing the central regulator is building a parallel enforcement system. The petition, filed by state FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, targets a May 2023 order that barred state officers from inspecting businesses holding central licences. The state says this blurs who is responsible for enforcement.
Drifters Brewing Company has entered Goa with Belgian White and Mexican Crisp, two 4.6 percent ABV beers. Distribution will reach select bars, hotels, cafés, pubs and wine shops across the state. Belgian White is a hazy wheat beer with orange peel and coriander, while Mexican Crisp is a fruity, floral lager. Both are pasteurised, shelf-stable and preservative-free.
The Croffle Guys, a Mumbai startup selling croffles, a croissant-waffle hybrid, has raised Rs 14 crore led by V3 Ventures, valuing it at Rs 100 crore post-money. The funds will open more than 40 outlets, mainly in Mumbai and Delhi. The chain has grown from two outlets to eight in a year. Annualised revenue run rate is Rs 24 crore.
India's Competition Commission has cleared the merger of Sapphire Foods India into Devyani International. Devyani runs KFC and Pizza Hut franchises in India and is the exclusive Costa Coffee franchisee there. Sapphire runs over 700 outlets under KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands across India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The tie-up could improve coordination and support expansion.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre will open The Library on 1 November 2026, a two-level venue that combines a book collection, an all-day café and literary programming. Its café was developed with restaurateur Aditi Dugar and starts with viennoiserie and brunch before moving to small plates and craft cocktails. The space holds over 4,500 books.
Kulcha Patola, a modern Punjabi quick-service brand from GJH Foods, has opened its flagship outlet in Chandigarh. The menu centres on the Amritsari kulcha, with slow-simmered curries, a lassi bar and fusion items such as K-Pizza. Launched in Patiala in 2022, the brand now operates in seven cities, with outlets under fit-out in Hisar, Rishikesh, Roorkee and Delhi.
Bengaluru startup Veritally lets restaurants check every order line in their Zomato and Swiggy weekly payouts. Owners upload the statement they already receive, and the tool flags commissions above normal, unexplained ads and discounts, and orders held over complaints. It also drafts messages to partner support. The launch follows requests from Bengaluru restaurant owners.
Figaro's Pizza has opened an outlet in Chambenahalli, Bengaluru, following its earlier Patna store. The American brand entered India through Franchise India, targeting Tier I and Tier II cities and 100 outlets by 2027. Its other markets are Cyprus, Nigeria and the United States, and dough is freshly prepared in-store daily.
