NEWS | Manu Chandra announces departure from Olive Group

The partner of the group company and founder of iconic Monkey Bar, Toast & Tonic and Fatty Bao brands broke the news on social media, and was followed by a statement issued by AD Singh, MD of the Olive Group of restaurants.

Chef Manu Chandra announced his departure from the Olive Group on social media on Monday, August 23, 2021.

Chandra, who was co-founder of Olive Cafes South Pvt. Ltd, along with Chetan Rampal and then partner of the group company in a long post on Instagram as well as Facebook entitled ‘So Long and Thanks for all the Baos’ announced his departure.

“To run a restaurant is a great honour and greater responsibility…And that has been mine for seventeen years as a chef at Olive Beach, and subsequently as a partner with the company. For this I shall always be deeply grateful. It is wrenching to walk away from the many spaces which I have built, and which have been home to these precious milestones in your life. And this departure is no less of a milestone in my journey as a chef,” Chandra wrote.

He went on to speak about the brands which he had built and created.

“Monkey Bar was India’s first gastropub which updated and reimagined traditional Indian flavours…Fatty Bao turned a setback—the shuttering of Likethatonly—into a learning that paved the way to a runaway success…Toast & Tonic led to the revival of gin, striking that rare balance between comfort and cool. Cancan upgraded the ubiquitous Chinese restaurant with great elan. We persisted, we survived, we excelled,” he said.

On what his plans were for the future, he simply said, “I step forward towards a bigger canvas and greater ambition—to finally bring to fruition cherished dreams and ideas that were set aside to focus on the daily grind.”

AD Singh, Managing Director, Olive Group of restaurants, also issued a statement on the departure.

“All good things must come to an end goes the adage. Though what it does is pave the way for fresh beginnings and new legacies. It is with sadness that we announce the moving on from the Olive Family, its two partners Chetan Rampal and Manu Chandra,” he said, adding that, “As we part ways amicably, we know that some relationships transcend mere employment, and remain grounded in the goodwill and camaraderie built over these past many years. We wish them the very best in whatever they pursue on their new journeys and am sure they will continue to delight and entertain you as they always have.”

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Karnataka permits bars, clubs to sell liquor at MRP

The move by the Karnataka government is part of its plans to shore up revenues from excise and help the cash-starved state in its battle against COVID-19 and the economic uncertainty that shrouds it.

The notification by the excise department says that establishments with cl-4 (clubs), cl-7 (hotels and boarding houses) and cl-9 (bars and restaurants) outside containment zones and malls or shopping complexes be allowed to resume sales to ensure its stock like beer does not expire and add to their losses.

The excise department notification comes at a time when the B.S. Yediyurappa-led state government has eased lockdown restrictions in most parts of Karnataka including Bengaluru, its growth engine, that has been classified as a red zone.He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should declare Covid-19 as a national disaster and that Yediyurappa should demand a ₹50,000 crore special package for Karnataka.

With taps from the centre drying up, Karnataka has already increased excise prices by 17-25% (depending on slabs) that would help raise at least ₹2,000 crores. The state had set a fiscal target of ₹22,700 crore for the current year and has been clocking high sales ,when liquor sales started in the state.

Manu Chandra, the head of the Bengaluru chapter of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) says that selling liquor at MRP would deplete the investments of such establishments.

The liquor that we have in our stores right now is essentially capital or investment that’s lying with us which whenever we open we may be able to sell at whatever margins we used to

He adds that owners of these restaurants pay a higher renewal fee and the MRP model would hit its “economics for a six".

He says that the lockdown happened at the end of March and much of the stocks had depleted with restaurants normally waiting till the beginning of April to replenish. He says that not everyone in the business may be able to sustain this model and may write to the excise department to stop liquor sales and only keep the kitchen open.