Ever since the beginning, Dhruv Bhattacharya had been in love with food. Coming from a non-hospitality/restaurant background he has always been interested in making a good plate and setting up a great ambiance. Food was more of a passion, and Dhruv did not think much before initiating Ticca Tikka. Serving the most delicious fusion food in the suburbs, Ticca Tikka is located in the heart of Andheri Lokhandwala. The proud owners, Jaskit Dham and Dhruv Bhattacharya constantly strive to curate and serve delicious Indian delicacies to their patrons.
A melange of Continental and Indian cuisine combined with the lively yet quirky ambiance at Ticca Tikka brings out the modern and contemporary world of delicious Indian cuisine. They have raised the bars higher than ever by curating delectable dishes using in-house and authentic Indian spices.
In Conversation With Dhruv Bhattacharya Of Ticca Tikka
Recreating international dishes to suit Indian Palate is also one of the specialties of Ticca Tikka. In an exclusive conversation with The Restaurant Times, Dhruv talks about the importance of location, marketing his future plans and a lot more.
Importance Of Location
According to Bhattacharya, location is the first opportunity one should grasp to move towards success. A visible, well-placed area is the best way that a new restaurant advertises its existence to the neighborhood. Choosing a restaurant location is one of the permanent choices a restaurant owner makes.
‘One cannot move the restaurant without significant expenses and troubles. So making a snap decision without doing any research may leave an owner with a location he or she may later regret, so deciding the most suitable location makes a stark difference’, says Bhattacharya.
The population in the desired location should be according to the expected customer base, and the location should be easily accessible. The next step is to look at your parking situation. Ideally, it would be best to have a self-owned parking lot for customers.
Staff Management
According to Bhattacharya, it is essential to build an ethical relationship with your restaurant staff. When someone runs a restaurant, every member of the team becomes extremely important; every member carries a flag of responsibility. The owner has to behave like a leader and instill core components of team value which are respect, loyalty, and compassion. Prospective restaurant business owners should aim for a hiring process that achieves a diverse team and should value that team accordingly.
One of the most significant problems in the restaurant space is the high attrition rate of the staff. Restaurant staff turnover rate is unusually very high, especially at the lower levels. Therefore, it is a good idea to offer a longevity bonus to the staff. If your employees stay for more than a particular period, provide them with a monetary benefit.
Food Has To Look Good To Taste Good
Eating is an exciting experience. According to Bhattacharya, visual appeal is as important as the taste. Whoever serves the food to the guests, should be efficiently trained for these actions. No matter who is serving food, he must be familiar with the basic rules for food presentation.
There two important points of food presentation that should always be kept in mind. First, it is advisable to keep the edges of the plate vacant or clear. The attractive contrast of colors on the plate is visually engaging. Second, Portion sizes should be standard. Consistent portion sizes help to prevent food wastage. With proper food presentation, you can use your existing customers and social media channels to upsell your restaurant on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, shares Bhattacharya.
‘Keeping customers happy should be the ulterior motive of all restaurant owners. Unless you keep them happy, you can hardly expect to see the inflow of repeat customers through.’
Customer Feedback
At this point, online presence has become highly essential for any business. According to Bhattacharya, good online marketing can keep your customers informed of events and offers. Create email campaigns to remind them of such events, and send out special offers. With customers that have visited a lot, you can even offer coupons for their favorite items from the menu, or send them an email that the restaurant misses them if they haven’t dined there for a while.
Bhattacharya concludes by saying that over the years, technology has become the critical ingredient for success in the modern foodservice industry. Merely having good food is not all that is required to keep a restaurant in business as it is the newest alterations that give restaurants the much-needed edge over the competition. Although these technologies come at a cost, the results that restaurants see in their business is well worth the investment.
He proudly shares that Ticca Tikka is now no longer a 60- seater place, they have now expanded into a 120- seater place after the renovation.
This place is awesome… I have been there multiple times and I keep going for more. Ambience is lovely, service is great and their food is super yummy…. Everything that I have ever tried be it starters, desserts, main course or drinks it’s been lovely. Best part the owners are really nice they come over and ask you personally if everything is ok and attend to any special requests. I strongly recommend this place and request you to try their delicacies and hospitality… Iam sure you’ll be smitten.