Theme restaurant

Theme restaurants cash in on concepts to sell

Definition: any eating establishment designed around a concept, esp.

sport, time or era, music style, etc.
Theme restaurants are restaurants in which the concept of the restaurant takes priority over
everything else, influencing the architecture, food, music, and overall 'feel' of the restaurant. The
food usually takes a backseat to the presentation of the theme, and these restaurants attract
customers solely on the premise of the theme itself. Though the cuisine is often secondary,
many people enjoy theme restaurants because they are fun and unusual

Popular chain restaurants such as Applebee's or Bennigans - despite having a distinct and
consistent style throughout their locations - would not be considered to be theme restaurants by
most people. Theme restaurants have an instantly recognizable, easily articulable concept that
can be summed up in a few words at most, an almost cartoonish exaggeration of an idea. The
popular Rainforest Cafe restaurants have the obvious theme of a "Tropical Rainforest". Medieval
Times has its theme of "Medieval Europe". The Jekyll & Hyde Club evokes an atmosphere of
Jack the Ripper and Victorian horror novels. Some theme restaurants use controversial images,
contexts, or ideas. The most notorious of them is Hitler's Cross, in Mumbai India.
One strange but famous theme restaurant in Berlin, Germany is called "das Klo" (German for
"The toilet") it depicts the insides of a toilet. Many people consider the Rainforest Cafe to be the
prototypical theme restaurant, and the restaurant which kicked off the theme restaurant fad.
Theme restaurants may be experiencing a decline in popularity, given the closings of several
Planet Hollywood, Jekyll & Hyde Club, and Wilderness Cafe locations in recent years. Theme
restaurants often depend on tourist business, since the theme soon becomes stale to locals, and
the focus is not necessarily placed on good food and service. Certain tourist destinations such as
the Mall of America or Orlando, Florida have better chances of supporting theme restaurants.
Theme restaurants are generally common at theme parks, such as Universal Studios.
The father of the theme restaurant, credited as being the pioneer of the genre, was David
Tallichet, a Texan who served as a bomber pilot in World War II and who died on October 29,
2007 at age 84. Beginning in the 1960s, he decorated restaurants as Polynesian islands, New
England fishing villages and French farmhouses (barricaded with sandbags to protect against
German bombardment). His Proud Bird restaurant at the Los Angeles International Airport had
headphones at each table so that diners could listen to control-tower chatter. Almost all of his
restaurants were in Southern California. His company, Specialty Restaurants, grew to revenues
of $185 million at its peak in 1980.

Pioneer of Theme Restaurants Pulled His

Ideas Out of the Sky David Tallichet (1922
2007)

Years before the Hard Rock Cafe put guitars on its walls; David Tallichet's company dressed up
its restaurants as Polynesian isles, New England fishing villages and French farmhouses
barricaded with sandbags to protect against German bombardment. At his Proud Bird restaurant
in Los Angeles International Airport, he installed headphones at each table so diners could listen
to control-tower chatter.
A pioneer of the theme-restaurant concept, Mr. Tallichet was also sometimes called the Indiana
Jones of historical aviation for his journeys to remote deserts and swamps in pursuit of
warplanes. He eventually built a collection of 120 vintage planes.

Birth of the theme restaurant

Credit for the development of the first theme restaurants goes to Paris cafs and cabarets which
opened in Montmartre in the later nineteenth century. They were primarily drinking spots rather
than full-scale restaurants but they served food also. Like American theme restaurants today they
were built around a concept and created an environment which appeared to be something other
than a mere eating and drinking place.
In their early years these artistic cafs had a counter-cultural impetus that in some cases
celebrated the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871 which had been rooted in Montmartre.

That was particularly true of the Caf du Bagne (Caf of the Penitentiary) established in 1885 by
Maxime Lisbonne (shown with waiters), a member of the Commune long exiled in a South
Pacific penal colony. Posters on the wall of his caf, which replicated a prison eating hall, hailed
Commune heroes. Waiters were dressed as real convicts but with fake balls and chains. The place
caused an instant sensation when it opened, with patrons lining up outside to get in. Possessed of
a socialistic mission, Lisbonne posted a sign in 1886 announcing a free breakfast for the poor
residents of Montmartre: Come, and eat your fill, your appetite sharpened by the knowledge
that it was from their [the capitalists] coffers the money was extracted.

The Chateau dIf of the 1880s, possibly an imitator of

the Caf du Bagne, was designed to resemble the prison by the same name in Dumass The
Count of Monte Cristo. Outside it had an imitation drawbridge which stretched from the street to
a large oak door, while inside were cells and dungeons. The LAbbaye de Thlme, with a
medieval theme, dressed its servers as monks and nuns.
At Le Chat Noir, the decor was in Louis XIII style, with waiters dressed in the authentic green
jackets of the Immortals of the French Academy whose job it was to protect the purity of the
French language the object being, of course, to mock them. When it was established in 1881,
Le Chat Noir, which was also decorated with images of black cats throughout, served as a club
for artists where they exhibited their work. Its fame spread quickly and it became a magnet for
visitors to Paris. (Later incarnation of Le Chat Noir pictured below.)
Many of the Montmartre cafs celebrated the macabre, with paintings and decor whose subjects
included infanticide, crucifixion, and assassination, but in 1894 The Caf of Death opened,
furnished with coffins serving as tables. The police objected to its name and its habit of serving
beer in imitation human skulls so its name was changed to the Cabaret du Nant [of
Nothingness].

The 1890s marked a turning point at which

original owners left the scene, artists stopped coming, bohemianism vanished, and new caf
owners took dead aim at tourists. Certainly few of the popular cafs and cabarets of the early
20th century had much connection with earlier enterprises even when old names remained. Many
felt that the Caf de lEnfer (Caf of Hell) exemplified the purely commercial type of enterprise.

The spirit of Pariss bohemian cafs passed into

the United States first in New York City. Au Chat Noir was in business there in 1895, decorated
with a wall frieze of black cats. Otherwise, though, it seemed like a fairly standard small French
restaurant of the day serving dishes such as cold lobster, tripe, and deviled crabs. Later at least a
couple of other cafs named The Black Cat appeared in NY and Coppas in San Francisco
adopted a similar theme.
Other early theme restaurants undoubtedly inspired by Paris cafs include beefsteak dungeons in
New York and elsewhere, as well as tea rooms and cabarets in Greenwich Village both before
and after World War I, a prime example being the Pirates Den. As in Paris, theme restaurants and
cafs rapidly lost any counter-cultural overtones.

History of one of the first theme restaurant jail

restaurant

Los Angeles was host to several jail theme eating/entertainment venues, the first in the early
1920s when LA entrepreneurs were eager to cash in on the popularity of Greenwich Village by
creating outlandish eating places that resembled the Villages. One LA attraction was a coffee
shop largely patronized by sailors where the walls were painted to resemble the stone walls of a
prison on which patrons scrawled their names. Then, in 1925, The Jail opened on Sunset
Boulevard. Each table occupied its own barred cell. Just like in Montmartre of the late 1800s,
waiters dressed as convicts the bitterly ironic yet unconscious American twist being that they
were black men.
Within a year the proprietors of The Jail opened a second place. This location, or perhaps the
first, became the set for two movies which have subsequently fallen into obscurity: Sweet
Daddies (silent, 1926) and Ragtime (1927).
The Jails featured chicken dinners. Diners were furnished with no knives or forks, thus carrying
on the beefsteak dungeons caveman tradition of eating with the hands. In 1930 a newspaper
columnist named The Jail as one of the seven wonders of Hollywood, along with the
Hollywood Bowl and the residence of Harold Lloyd. That honor may have marked its swan song
as it seemed to disappear around then.

There were also jail-themed restaurants in other parts of the country. Depression-era Indianapolis
had Foxs Jail House Restaurant (shown above) where the inmates ate behind bars, while

Fairfield, Iowa, enjoyed Turners Jail Caf where, in 1939, Mr. and Mrs. Turner invited guests to
Eat (plate lunches) at the Jail!
Believe it or not, the macabre subject of execution has also served as a theme for some eating
places, such as The Noose Coffee Shop located across from Chicagos Criminal Courts building
in the 1920s. It supplied condemned prisoners with their last meals and they reciprocated with
autographed photos. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Tarzana CA had a jokey place called The
Hangmans Tree Caf, whose menu cover featured a noose dangling from a tree and the slogan
Jail Fare. Although it was presumably meant to invoke the Wild West I feel reasonably certain
not many black guests chose to accept the invitation to hang out there. I almost hate to mention
the Taipei, Taiwan, restaurant called The Jail which in 2000 was grotesquely (but briefly,
following public outcry) decorated with photo murals of emaciated prisoners of German
concentration camps and a sign for the rest rooms that read gas chamber.

India's First Bollywood themed Restaurant 'Havmor 70 MM' and '1857' - Colonial
themed Restro-Bar launched at Hyderabad

The Ohris Group, a trusted name in hospitality industry in India achieves a rare distinction of
becoming the biggest group of themed restaurants in India with the launch of its uniquely themed
Havmor-70MM, India's first Bollywood themed restaurant and '1857', Hyderabad's first
Colonial themed Restro-Bar at Jalvihar on Necklace Road, Hyderabad. With these two new
attractions being added now and thirteen other themed restaurants already in its bowl, Ohris
becomes one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in South India.
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, May 19, 2009 /India PR wire -- The Ohris Group, a trusted names
in hospitality industry in India achieves a rare distinction of becoming the biggest group of
themed restaurants in India with the launch of its uniquely themed Havmor-70MM, Indias first
Bollywood themed restaurant and 1857, Hyderabads first Colonial themed Restro-Bar at
Jalvihar on Necklace Road, Hyderabad. With these two new attractions being added now and
thirteen other themed restaurants already in its bowl, Ohris becomes one of the fastest growing
restaurant chains in South India. To announce the two new attractions and celebrate the launch, a
Fashion Show by Prasad Bidappa was organised. Also there was a performance by Harvest
Moon, an international band which enthralled two hundred plus invited guests.
The Havmor - 70 MM is Indias First Bollywood themed Restaurant with five zones viz.,
Romantic Zone, Action Zone, Comedy Zone, Villain Zone and Vamp Zone informed Mr. Ravi
Ohri, Chairman of Ohriss Group. Each zone is themed in that look and feel. Also featured are
full and detailed statues of Amitabh Bachchan and Helen with a lot of retro Bollywood elements
including staff uniforms. Table tops are all themed as per the zone. Lots of authentic bollywood
memorabilia on the walls such as LP records, Posters depicting Bollywood stars, etc. gives a
refreshing experience to its guests.
It essentially captures the nostalgic moments associated with it and some of the most memorable
movies will be shown on giant screen of multiple LCDs. The Indian Cinema is incomplete
without song, dance, romance, action and treachery. Havmor 70MM has captured some of the
epic moments in the form of statues enacting the same, with sections earmarked to enliven the
essence of the above facets of Indian movies. Havmor 70MM menu provides a wide range of
choices from the Buffet or from A-la-carte. You can chit chat over relishing Chaat-e-Bahar, relish
lip smacking snacks, enjoy a meal or two from the menu or relish mouth watering desserts, not to
forget its in house Ice Cream brand of Havmor. Havmor is two and half decade old home spun
ice cream brand from the Ohris Family.

The 1857 is Hyderabads First Colonial themed Restro-Bar informed Mr. Amar Ohri, Executive
Director of Ohris Group It is themed like a Colonial Club reflecting the life-style from the days
of the Raj, it celebrates the cuisine of yesteryears. It offers global cuisine and features a Mobile
BBQ Grill to grill at the tables which is very unique and unheard before. It also offers multiple
types of Beer Towers for the first time in the Hyderabad. The 60-feet long bar has a Newspaper
styled menu as well as LED Menu offering Global cuisine. Also launching for the first time
Patiala peg menu with Patiala sizes. The interiors are richly done reflecting the life-style from the
days of the Raj. Authentic pictures from the colonial times adore the walls of this Restro-Bar
with a unique scenic advantage overlooking the Hussain Sagar Lake.
A warm friendly atmosphere with decor emphasizing on the essential character and style
reminiscing of the eighteen and early nineteenth century British era. With a stunning panoramic
view of the Historic Hussain Sagar Lake with conventional and contemporary interiors in shades
of all white with green emanating from one side setting the mood for a crazy dinner with posters,
pictures and artifacts reflecting the mood and sentiments of Colonial style.
Eighteen 57 offers an unique dining experience that explores the gourmets of the finest Indian
and International cuisine serving authentic and contemporary taste. The Lounge Bar offers an
exclusive and exhaustive range of cocktails and mock-tails and of course the finest range of
International Liquors.

VIEW FROM EXPERTS-why need of

the day
Exclusive theme restaurants wow foodies
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, October 15, 2010
First Published: 15:46 IST(15/10/2010)
Last Updated: 15:50 IST(15/10/2010)

Be it a lounge created completely out of ice or a cafe that resembles a forest with monkeys and
other animals for company, entrepreneurs are devising innovative ideas to create theme
restaurants to attract food lovers. A welcome breather from regular restaurants and hotels, the
unconventional
surroundings of the theme hotels are lending them a distinctive quality.
Remember Mowgli? The lovable character from Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" makes an
appearance again but this time in a restaurant. De Moghleez, a restaurant in West Delhi based on
a forest theme also sports other Kipling characters like "Sher Khan" and "Baalu" plastered on its
walls.
"Our main aim to select jungle as a theme for our restaurant is to attract children. We often see
the same customers every week in our restaurant with their children, who play around while
having food," Rajesh Mehra, Manager of DeMoghleez said.
'Culture Gully', the cuisine wing of the 'Kingdom of Dreams' theatre in Gurgaon which
showcases food from 14 states of India offers a vibrant space that is an amalgamation of an
unique Indian experience.
Also "Samarkhand" in Mumbai boasts of a rich Afghani ambiance, with the North West frontier
region as its theme. Even the waiters here dress up in typical Afghani wardrobe, sporting turbans
and sherwanis all the time.
Suresh Naik, senior captain (team manager) of the restaurant says, "Indians as well as foreigners
love our ambiance. Sabutchooz( sort of tandoori chicken) and Sikanderaan (leg of baby lamb) is
undoubtedly our specialty."
Corroborating Naik is a twenty-something Shreya Sareen who believes that the USP of theme
restaurants is their ambiance.

"I have been to such restaurants and I like their setting. The way they have been designed is
interesting and the ambiance is really good, "she says.
'Rocking Evils' in Pitampura, Delhi is a resto-bar. As the name suggests, its theme is that of 'evil'.
Red and Black colours in the decor lend a devilish look to it. Drinks and cuisines of the
restaurant are based on negative attributes and are referred to as 'evil Dreams', '007evils','evils
special murg', 'evils chicken drumsticks' etc.
Bollywood too has emerged as a favourite theme of joints like the 'Filmi Masala' in Gurgaon and
the 'Bombay Post' in Mumbai.
The common motif in both the restaurants are old Hindi classics and posters of Bollywood icons
like Nargis and Raj Kapoor.
Puneet Tayal, co-partner of Delhi's first ice bar 'Ice Lounge', is all set to tap the Commonwealth
games business bonanza.
He says, "We will hosting a series of international acts. The DJs will be from Commonwealth
nations so as to connect with the audience of these nations."
With options galore, even customers are ready to shell out their money for getting an exclusive
feel of a particular theme.
Monika Jose, an college student who has visited Pind Balluchi in Rajouri Garden says, "It has a
very rustic feel to it and it's a village setting you know, and the food is also served in copper
haandis. It's very interesting."
With theme restaurants dime-a-dozen, food lovers say they can look forward to a variety of
cuisines and multiple experiences to choose from.

With more and more diners yearning for a break from the urban bustle, theme-restaurants with outof-the box offering in terms of ambience, cuisine and dcor are gaining acceptance.
Now one could chug down timelines and enjoy some burrakhanna of the British Raj, seated in a
pullman styled 1850's railway-coach dining restaurant "Sahib Sind Sultan (SSS)", or one could go
back to the spartan rock-age interior of "Guhantara", a cave resort.
Food connoisseurs can also have a pick of enjoying flavours from the Chinese woks at "Aromas of
China" or usher in a celebratory mood of a wedding at "Jalsa", a restaurant.
"Eating out is no longer just about food but involves the entire experience of enjoying it", says Babita
Jayaram, Marketing Vice President of BJN group, a leading player running a popular chain of theme
restaurants in the country.

Customer satisfaction of theme restaurant

Theme restaurants were designed to provide customers with not only a meal, but
also an entertaining experience. After a rapid rise in popularity in the early to mid
1990s, theme restaurants began to experience a decline in market share. As this
segment of the restaurant industry experiences the downsizing of many oncepopular brands, it is imperative that investigations are undertaken to determine the
causes of this decline. Many researchers have attributed customer satisfaction and
subsequent return intent as key indicators regarding the success of a restaurant.
Although considerable research has been conducted on these indicators in the
service industry, none has focused on theme restaurants in particular. Relying upon
expectancy disconfirmation theory, this study adds to the existing body of customer
satisfaction literature by examining four theme restaurant attributes (food quality,
service quality, atmosphere, and novelty) and their influence on return intent. A
total of 172 patrons of three US theme restaurant chains (Hard Rock Caf, Planet
Hollywood, and Rainforest Caf), who were living or visiting Las Vegas, were
surveyed in March 2003. Results revealed that customers were least satisfied with
novelty. Further, customer satisfaction with theme restaurant food quality and
atmosphere were the only significant attributes influencing return intent.

Service encounter of theme restaurant

Along with the increasing requirements of customers on dining experiences, theme restaurants
have become a trend in catering industry. This study start from the concrete process of service
encounter, especially to the elements of encounter quality in service experience process. The
results indicated that the quality evaluation of service encounter process in theme restaurants is
mainly affected by three parts, i.e. service environment, service personnel and existence of
problem customer. The interactive quality evaluation of restaurant service has positive
correlation with service personnel's skill, problem customer's behavior, service personnel's
attitude and service environment of the restaurant.

Introduction/service quality
Following higher living standards and vigorous development in the food and beverage industry,
consumers have begun to pay attention to environment, atmosphere and personalization apart
from satisfying their demands for physical products. Today's consumers are interested in
purchasing products and consuming procedures that will bring them spiritual enjoyment and
fulfilling experiences. From restaurants with regional flavors like Italian, Japanese or Mexican,
i.e. using different theme concepts to enrich food styles and features, to restaurants taking music,
gaming, history and sports as themes, various consuming experiences are brought to customers.
However, because the prosperous development of theme restaurants makes the competition in
catering industry extremely keen, many theme restaurants are in the condition of low profit rates
or even negative. In order to solve difficulties and turn the situation around, theme restaurants
begin to transfer their attentions to customers one by one, meeting customer demand as well as
promoting service quality and standard.
The essential characteristic of theme restaurant service is that customer...

Why Theme Restaurants Fail

(and How They Succeed)
Planet Hollywoods orbit is degenerating. Hard Rock Cafe is falling on hard times. Fashion Cafe
is looking threadbare. In an effort to discover why some restaurants fail and why others succeed,
E.S.P. put the question to a handful of very busy real estate brokers around the country who
specialize in restaurants. Wall Street and its echo, the daily press, tends to look at all failures as a
function of cost vs. revenue, and all successes as revenue vs. cost (When the only tool you have
is a wrench, everything starts to look like a nut).
While cost vs. revenue is the mathematics of profit and loss, the forces behind the formula are
food and service, according to the brokers we interviewed.
Theme restaurants will continue to grow with or without Wall Streets help.
"If the focus is on dancing gorillas, or guitars signed by Madonna, or whatever, theyre going to
have a problem. You have to focus on the food," said John Higden of Higden & Higden (512343-0418), an Austin, Texas-based restaurant brokerage firm. "People will only buy so many Tshirts or squeaking frogs." Higden recalled that during Bill Clintons election campaign, the
buzz-phrase was "Its the economy, stupid. Well, its the food, stupid."
No argument to Higdens view could be obtained from Thomas P. McCarty of Restaurant
Brokerage (303-432-0047) in Arvada, Colorado, or from Paul G.W. Fetscher of the Great
American Brokerage (212-557-7272) in New York City, or from Jerry Becker of Hiffman Shaffer
Associates Inc. (312-332-3555) in Chicago. Each has his own way of approaching the topic, but
all agree that consistently good food and excellent customer service are the only essential
ingredients in a successful restaurant recipe.
"The only way you build loyalty is through good food," said Fetscher. "I dont have to go to a
theme restaurant, but I do have a propensity to eat two to three times a day."
"The rumors concerning the demise of theme restaurants are greatly exaggerated," said Becker.
"Wall Street investors may have abandoned the restaurant concepts that relied more on hype than

on consistent good food. Theme restaurants will continue to grow with or without Wall Streets
help. The well thought-out restaurants that consistently deliver on food and service will be
around. Currently, theme restaurant concepts such as Buca di Beppo, Dave & Busters, and
Champps Americana, to name a few, fit this criteria. On the other hand, Country Star, Fashion
Cafe and Planet Hollywood, who rely on hype and glitz rather than good food, are destined to
experience problems or death. Theme restaurants have been around for some time and will
continue, provided they deliver on a well-crafted environment, with good food and service."

"The theme concept is a business concept, not a restaurant concept. A chain is a

function of finance more than food."
"These places are not known for great food," said Leslie Siben, a restaurant broker with Winick
Realty (212-792-2643) in New York City. "Its very hard to operate with food as your primary
concern in what I call stadium dining, the 80s concept, which is what these places are doing,
catering to the mainstream palate."
"So they focus on the tourist, and the problem with the theme is that they (tourists) get tired of it.
Themes dont maintain a fresh interest for repeat business, they dont cultivate your mainstay
audience, by definition. Then, when you get too big, you become more of an overhead operation.
The theme concept is a business concept, not a restaurant concept. A chain is a function of
finance more than food."
What is a theme restaurant? Is there any such thing as a non-theme restaurant? E.S.P.s
consulting brokers agreed that, for the most part, every restaurant has a theme it tries to convey
to its customers, some more successfully than others. In searching for weird themes, we found a
few that havent received national attention yet. For example there is Adam & Eves, located in a
resort called Naked City in Indiana, whose theme is nudity neither the customers nor the
employees wear any clothing. Not a candidate for national exposure, but perhaps a limited
rollout. Then there is Live Bait, a New York joint that looks like a trip to the rest room will land
you in a wood shack with a hole in the floor and a bucket of corncobs hanging on the wall. A
Confederate flag adorns one fractured wall, and the menu is 40s Mississippi sharecropper. Wall
Street is not knocking down their door, but maybe itll fall off on its own.
Every restaurant, from JoJos Pizza & Bar (theme: pizza and booze, know-the-owner casual) to
Smith & Wollenskys (theme: the best steaks in the country) has a theme. Its in the name, the
image and the reputation, if not the decor. If its in the food and service too, and theyre a hit,
thats all that matters. The problem arises when the theme is everything and the restaurant is
relegated to third-class status or worse. Customers will return the sentiment, and investors will
soon follow.

To be sure, there are those in the restaurant business who still believe that there is a difference
between a "theme" or "specialty" restaurant and any other restaurant, and that the "theme"
restaurant industry is suffering a setback. These are the cost-vs.-profits Wall Street believers like
Gaylord Entertainment. This company recently bought out the 49 percent of Wild Horse Saloons
it didnt already own from Levy Restaurants and, in its announcement of that purchase, declared
that "the specialty restaurant industry is not in an expansion mode right now." That statement was
attributed to Terry London, CEO, who also said, "We view Wildhorse Saloons as entertainment
venues more than restaurants..." Indeed, a heavy entertainment and-or tourism draw can make an
otherwise bad restaurant financially successful, because it eliminates the need for repeat
customers, which is the desired result of establishing good food and service.
"If your customer base is non-repeat," said McCarty, "such as in tourist areas, you dont have to
execute well. In Cancun, for example, you might go into a Planet Hollywood and buy a T-shirt,
but not in Denver."
"If your customer base is non-repeat, such as in tourist areas, you dont have to
execute well"
The very nature of celebrity-spawned restaurants creates additional problems with staffing,
McCarty said. "The staff attracted is there for the glitter, rather than to provide a good guest
experience. They want to hang out there in case the stars show up." Higden echoed that
observation: "There was more attention on who showed up at an opening party" than on the food
and service fundamentals, at the trendy celebrity bistros, he said.
The industrys problem now is one of overcrowding in what Higden tagged the "hyper-theme"
restaurant genre, or what Fetscher calls "eatertainment" centers. "There are now more than 600
eatertainment restaurants, many of them sharing the same market," Fetscher said. "As much of a
fan as I am of restaurants, I dont know that Landrys Inc. needs five restaurants in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina, or that I need in Myrtle Beach a Hard Rock Cafe, a Planet Hollywood, and an
All Star Cafe all within sight of each other." He characterized the Myrtle Beach restaurants as
"underperforming, according to reports."

The problem arises when the theme is everything and the restaurant is relegated
to third-class status or worse.
Even the cost of building a trendy restaurant, which often runs to $400 per square foot, is not
necessarily a factor, if the restaurants emphasis is on the fundamentals, McCarty said.
"Palamino, The Cheescake Factory, Puccinis, they all spend $300 to $400 a square foot... Cost is
clearly a factor as the sales drop," he noted. "The restaurant business is not rocket science. The

most expensive cost you have is losing a customer. If a customer has a positive experience, hell
tell one person. If he has a negative experience, hell tell 10 people."
Wall Street, in fact, can be part of the problem, McCarty agreed. If a restaurants focus is on
dollars rather than food and service, and the numbers slip a little, then the bean-counters start
putting pressure on to tighten up on costs. A deadly cycle is started. "Wall Street tightens the
screws," said McCarty, "then, instead of giving a customer a free dessert because of a problem,
the waiter has to ask the manager. The manager knows he needs another half a percent profit this
month, so he says no, just tell them youre sorry. Now youve lost a customer." As sales decline,
the screw tightens further and customer service suffers more. "Then it becomes exponential and
logarithmic," McCarty said.
"Another piece of the formula is people," said Higden. "If youre growing too fast, you cant
grow your culture. You need to recreate the enthusiasm and the corporate culture, and if it grows
too fast you cant do that. Without those factors, the real estate can be brilliant, and youre going
to have to do it again. You have to have passion for food and passion for serving people."
Cost is certainly a factor to investors, Fetscher noted. Investors want to see a minimum return of
15 percent, meaning that "a comfortable ratio is 1.5-to-1 sales to investment." For a mammoth
undertaking like David Copperfields in New York Citys Times Square, he said, this may never
happen.
"Its going to cost more to build David Copperfields in New York than any other restaurant ever
built. Current reports are that it will cost $30 million to turn the key. For this unit to be successful
its got to at least gross the investment."
"The center area (of David Copperfields) will be 100 feet high. A table of patrons will be swept
to the top of it, sawn in half and will reappear elsewhere in the restaurant, without knowing
themselves quite how it happened. Thats an illusion. The delusion is the expectation of this
being a $30 million gross operation," Fetscher said. Good food will help, but it wont do it all, he
added. "With the Joseph Baum/Michael Whitehead Co. involved, I expect the food to be, not
gourmet, but substantially above the mark of most other eatertainment restaurants."
Fetscher said the second location for David Copperfields in Orlando, Florida, "with a build-out
more like $20 million, will have a better probability of grossing their investment."
Design is another critical factor. Fetscher talked about the original Dive in Los Angeles. "It was
cute the Yellow Submarine come to life. The Levy Brothers out of Chicago did a very interesting
job, especially in developing a submarine menu... But when I went there, there was no one there.
It seats nearly 300, but no place you sat did you get a feel for the excitement of having a lot of
people there. It was far too fragmented and broken up into areas."

The underwater illusion, which included a very expensive series of "portholes" that were linked
video screens allowing a digital fish to swim across one screen and show up in the next. But
because of the underwater theme, "there was a blue tone to the lights. In blue light, people dont
look good, and food doesnt look good. So Im sitting with 20 people who dont look too healthy,
food that doesnt look very appetizing, but the fish swims from screen to screen."
"After the first year it grossed $6 million on a $9 million investment, then settled into $5 million
a year on 60 percent local and 40 percent tourist business. An astronomical marketing budget of
six to 10 percent of gross was spent in order to attempt to continue attracting customers. They
just announced the closing of this store. It finally out-grossed the investment, it just took too long
to do it."
The new Las Vegas Dive unit, Fetscher said, is likely to do better because it has "more of a
central area, better lighting tones, and a dining balcony, so whether 50 or 200 people are seated,
the scale is correct and you can see lots more people enjoying themselves. Plus, the Las Vegas
unit is 90 percent tourist customers with a strong merchandise component."
In a nutshell, its the food that drives a successful theme restaurant.

Major player in india

Kambala Hospitality Services

ur Story

Kambala Hospitality Services Limited was born out of a dream & passion. A dream nurtured
over years towards the dynamic industry of hospitality.
The instinct which suggested that things need not carry on the way they are proposed or
perceived, practices which are handed down or suggested and that imagination has no
boundaries, creativity no limitations.

This ideology gave birth to the enterprise of KHPL. Founded by Deepak Bassi, Managing
Director, KHPL was joined by similar like minded professionals to shape the destiny of the new
age food company.
KHPL proudly engages itself to the service industry and diverse businesss related to hospitality.

KHPL stands supported by a dynamic and experienced team with a common goal
and vision. Diverse experiences come into play to from this amazing conglomerate
of talents to spearhead the future enterprise and aspirations. Each department
raring to contribute to the making of a common objective, SUCCESS.
Deepak Bassi

MD & CEO

Amar Jog

Director - Business Development & Marketing

Santosh Rai

COO - Banquets

Mahesh Engineer CFO

rand

Kambala Hospitality Restaurants division offers an option of unique restaurants spread

over the city of Mumbai.
All the restaurants are uniquely themed and styles for diverse entertaining and dining
purposes.
Ideal for personal / social outings, gatherings, functions and celebrations.

Village, the soul of India is promoted by Kambala Hospitality

Private Limited (KHPL). Village endeavours to promote the lesser known heritage of our
cultural treasures making it one of the most unique restaurant of its times. The mud
plastered walls and characteristics rural finery transcend you into a surreal world of an era
gone by.
MUMBAIS FIRST PAN INDIAN THEME RESTAURANT

TRADITIONAL VILLAGE THEME :

A rural village comes alive in Mumbai complete with minute details found only in rural India..
Options of dining on a truck back or in rickshaw, lounge around in the traditional low sitting
diwans or feast on the dhaba styles benches.
Leave the modern times behind.

CUISINE :
Discover the diverse cuisines of India ranging from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with traditional
maharajs & chefs. The menus will be changed on a regular basis to offer you the best choices.

70 DELICACIES :
Scumptious choices ranging from refreshing sugarcane juices to lassis, chaats to Amritsari
kulchas, dosas to appams, chole bathure to hyderabadi biryanis, kulfis to the magic of Bengal. Its
an unlimited food extravaganza.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT :
Jump into the mood with a colourful Rajasthani folk troupe or a garba, reach your roots through
a vibrant Bhangra or a traditional lavani.

EXPERIENCE :
Perhaps for the first time in Mumbai you can actually show your children what a traditional
village means to our heritage.

CONCEPT :
The concept is of a ONE TICKET RESTAURANT, where you pay a fixed rate at the entry for
adults & children and feast as much as you want on the delectable spread in a vibrant ambience
with your entire family.
AN EXPERIENCE TO BE EXPERIENCED

The rural wave descends upon the confines of urban senses. A step into a surreal world of make
believe. Village comes to life for the first time in the city of Mumbai. Introducing the first ever
Pan Indian theme restaurant, VILLAGE, The Soul of India. Village is located at Kandivili,
Thane and Vashi.

Village was the first flagship restaurant of Kambala Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. who have launched
an entire range of hospitality services indulging in state of the art banqueting halls, outdoor
catering services, restaurants, food courts and hospitality solutions.
Village, the soul of India is the brain child of its C.E.O. Deepak Bassi who has brought alive an
entire Indian village in the confines of a 10,000 square feet restaurant. The piece de resistance is
the concept of an one ticket restaurant where you pay a fixed cover charge and then feast on six
food chowkis to your hearts content, appetizers to chaats to main course to desserts. The
management boasts of traditional cooks sourced from origin domain to add the authenticity, the
masalas and the rare ingredients sourced form the respective native centers. Where the spread is
concerned you are spoilt for choices, the menu is going to be on rotation showcasing all the
traditional cuisine of India.

Detailed to some imaginative interior specs the aromas of an village actually transfer you into a
mystical land. The lavish verandah is reminiscent of a thakurs haveli with a munimji, adorned
with antique and appointments. The raw elements are effectively brought alive with the two
trucks and auto rickshaws very imaginatively converted into dining tables. Choose between a
traditional charpoi or a princely diwan or just soak in the entire village on foot. There are no
prior table reservations or appointments.

Whats a village without nautanki. Rajasthani maand singers, dance troupes, kutchi ghodis and
bhangra performances keep you on your toes to justify the desi ghee diet. Guests are often seen
joining the sangeet mandali after the meals or busy with the chudiwali or the mehndiwala.
As Amar Jog, Director Business Development & Marketing, KHPL puts it, In todays times,
Village is the route to your roots. This is our honest effort to bring back the glorious cultural
treasures from the soul of India

Established in 1981, the Ohris group has been a pioneer in the hospitality scenario since its
inception. Through constant innovation and consistent growth, Ohris today is among the fastest
growing restaurant chain in South India.
Ohris has established itself as a leader in food court dining. Establishing the first specialized
food court in the city it has already won many professional laurels and most importantly the
praise and loyalty of its customers. As Ohris readies itself for its next evolutionary step of
expanding into new areas and markets, it has already laid the foundation to become the ultimate
dining experience.
Know more...

A Message from Mr. Amar Ohri, Executive Director, Ohris

Group

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the team at the Ohris Group.

Our vision is "Delighting Guests Each and Every Time" and the goal is to develop
and maintain a profitable, well known and highly regarded Ohris Group that is reputed
in all circles of the community for friendly efficient service and the ability to make the
impossible possible.

To ensure the perpetual achievement of this vision, we have made it our objective to
obtain and maintain the best personnel possible and to continually offer our guests only
the highest quality products and service. Our company recognises that our goals may be
reached only with the support of excelling individuals. Consequently, we expect the
members of our team to perform on the highest level of which they are capable at all
times. It is our smile, our special attention to detail, and our commitment to exceeding
the expectations of our guests that will guarantee our future success and prosperity.

Once again, I invite you to the Ohris team.

I sincerely hope you will enjoy your new position and I look forward to working with you
as we face the challenges of the future together.

Yours sincerely
Amar Ohri

15 of the Strangest Themed Restaurants:

If theres one thing that all of these restaurants have in common with incredible
theme hotels it is the belief that dining doesnt have to be mundane. From the
comical to the sincerely disturbing, strangely themed restaurants have popped up
all over the globe, but are most commonly found in Tokyo, Japan. Here are 15 of the
weirdest and wackiest themed restaurants in the world, highlighting such
gastronomic delights as edible dead bodies, Spicy Condom Salad and fecesshaped ice cream served in miniature toilet bowls.

Buns and Guns Beirut, Lebanon

Image via LA Times

At Buns & Guns in Beirut, Lebanon, everything is military themed from the dcor and names
of the menu items to the helicopter sounds that play constantly in the background. Manager
Yussef Ibrahim says that the theme reflects the mood of the city during Lebanons 2006 war with
Israel, and that while some patrons may find it disturbing, most are amused. You can order
yourself an M16 Carbine meat sandwich, a Mortar burger or a Terrorist meal (which happens to
be vegetarian). Displayed at the entrance is the restaurants slogan, Sandwiches Can Kill You.

Cannabalistic Sushi Tokyo, Japan

Image via Weird Asia News

Nyotaimori in Japanese literally means female body plate, and this restaurant named after the
tradition of eating sushi and sashimi off a nude womans body takes the concept to a whole new
level. An edible body, with dough skin and sauce blood is wheeled into the room on a hospital
gurney and placed upon a table. The hostess begins the meal by cutting into the body with a
scalpel and then patrons dig in, operating on the body to reveal edible organs.

Modern Toilet Taipei, Taiwan

Image via Fun Fever

Perhaps the best-known strangely themed restaurant is Modern Toilet in Taipei, Taiwan, where
hungry customers take a seat on Western-style commodes and enjoy feces-shaped chocolate soft
serve in miniature toilet bowls. Toilet rolls are hung over the tables for use as napkins, and drinks
come in miniature urinals. The toilet theme continues throughout the restaurant, with WC signs
hung as dcor.
Hitlers Cross Mumbai, India

Image via Flickr user Patrix Blogs

Hitlers Cross, in Mumbai, India, understandably provoked a lot of anger from the community
when it debuted in August of 2006. On display was a giant poster of Hitler, and the o in cross
on the restaurants large illuminated sign contained a swastika. Just one week later, the restaurant
was forced to change its name to the ambiguous The Cross and remove all Hitler and nazi
memorabilia.

Maid Cafes Tokyo, Japan

Image via The National Post

Those with maid fetishes and fans of Japanese otaku (geek) culture can enjoy a meal like no
other at one of the many maid-themed cafes in the Tokyo area, including this one called
@home. Giggling women in cartoonish maid costumes call patrons master and pat them on
the heads like babies. Its not about the food here which is usually overpriced and less than

appetizing, like spaghetti topped with ketchup. Its about the service, which often includes
playing games like Barrel of Monkeys (for a fee, of course) and, uh, ear cleaning.

Pitch-Black Restaurant Beijing, China

Image via Gizmodo

Its often said that if you take away one or more of your senses, the remaining ones get stronger.
Thats the idea behind Pitch Black, a Beijing restaurant where patrons eat in complete darkness.
Illuminating devices like cell phones and watches are strictly forbidden, and its so dark you
cant see your hand in front of your face. Dont think you can get away with any funny business,
however the waiters wear night-vision goggles.

Graveyard Restaurant Ahmadabad, India

Image via The Seattle Times

Being surrounded by coffins while you eat is one thing, but its an entirely different matter when
theyre occupied. The New Lucky Restaurant in Ahmadabad, India began as a tea stall outside a
centuries-old Muslim cemetery, and grew to encompass it over the years. The graves, situated
between tables and often topped with candles, and resemble green-painted concrete coffins. One
is said to contain a 16th century Sufi saint. Business is brisk, and the owners say that the graves
bring them good luck.
Death Themed Restaurant Truskavets, Ukraine

Image via ContractJou

Image via ContractJournal.com

When a group of undertakers set out to start a restaurant, you know its going to be weird. And
indeed, Eternity restaurant in Truskavets, Ukraine is a windowless building shaped like a giant
coffin. Inside youll find funeral wreaths, black shrouded walls and human-sized coffins. Menu
items include dishes with names like Lets meet in paradise.
The Hellfire Club Manchester, UK

Image via Top Table

The Hellfire Club, with its gothic dcor and creepy theme, might not seem like a likely place to
enjoy a world-class meal, but the food here is said to be divine. Its located in a reportedly

haunted 19th century building and resembles a dungeon, with skeletons, coffins and red lights
strewn throughout. Menu items include steaks named Kiss of the Vampire and Cannibal
Holocaust.
Vampire Caf Tokyo, Japan

Image via Marianne Mancusi

Continuing the creepy, otherwordly themes is the Vampire Caf in the Ginza section of Tokyo,
where the interior is almost entirely blood red. Guests are ushered down a long hallway with red
blood cells superimposed on the floor. Inside, the dcor includes heavy velvet drapes, black
coffins dripping with red candle wax, skulls and crosses. Many of the meals are vampire-themed,
and diners drink red cocktails from martini glasses.
Hobbit House Manila, Phillipines

Image via HobbitHouseManila.com

Long before the Lord of the Rings trilogy debuted on theatre screens, the Hobbit House was
founded in Manila by former Peace Corps volunteer and Tolkein fan Jim Turner. Dont expect to
find the sort of lush Middle Earth scenery that filled the movies, however what youll
encounter instead if you stop to dine at the Hobbit House is a staff of the smallest waiters in the
world. Thats right, check your political correctness at the door this is one group of little
people who are okay with being referred to as hobbits.
Robot-Staffed Restaurant Nuremburg, Germany

Image via Gizmodo

One restaurant in Nuremburg, Germany cut out waitstaff altogether, relying on robots instead.
Alas, they werent walking, talking robots wearing aprons or anything really fun like that.
Rather, it was centered around automation customers ordered via touch screens, and moments
later the food traveled to their tables on a spiral slide. It might have saved diners money on tips,
but apparently the concept didnt go over too well, as the restaurant was not open long.
Mao-Era Red Guards Restaurant Nanning, China

Image via Trifter.com

You wouldnt think the Chinese people would be eager to relive the Mao era while casually
dining, but patrons at Shaoshan Chong line up to consume local delicacies served by waiters in
the Red Guard uniform. The Red Guard was the army unit formed by Mao Tse Tung during the
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which aimed to wipe the country free of revisionist and
Western influence.
Christon Caf Tokyo, Japan