EPIC LITTLE INDIA RESTAURANT FOUNDER SIMERAN BAIDWAN CHAMPIONS PROGRESS ON ALL FRONTS
Simeran Baidwan has always had a talent for taking care of people, so a career in hospitality seemed a natural direction to take—but his journey to creating and scaling Masala & Korma to 4 Little India locations, plus launching a myriad of other styling of Indian food decorating undertook an untraditional route.
Chefs and restaurateurs in the NextGen Casual movement are ever-evolving artists and acrobats, walking a tightrope between traditional cooking techniques perfected over centuries and progressive ideals of running a modern business. Entertaining an audience (or customer base) requires extensive forethought, and restaurant brand leaders like Simeran Baidwan aren’t afraid to think outside the box when designing a dazzling show, from restaurant decor to innovative takes on classic menu items like masalas. These NextGen-ers are setting the trends for the rest of the industry and raising the bar on what hospitality means—and the world is watching.
From surviving a challenging upbringing eating out of food kitchens to educating himself in culinary and getting his first job at a restaurant, Baidwan is one of those rare restaurateurs who understands from firsthand experience how difficult working in food service can be. That’s why Baidwan seeks to make improvements and change the industry from within and set a new standard for the hospitality model of the future.
“As someone who’s been in this industry my whole life, I absolutely love it, but I see the challenges in it, the depression, the money aspect of it,” Baidwan says. “Even the highest-paid people in the industry are still somewhat not having a full life or doing the things they want to do, and it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re thinking about what we can do to change it.”
“We focus on doing true Indian technique, so we don’t do anything frozen. Everything from scratch. The only thing that comes out of the freezer is ice cream for the chocolate molten bundt cake,” Baidwan says. Where else can you find something like The Crown Jewel, a British-inspired Korma with boneless lamb, mustard oil, and mac and cheese smothered masala?
The idea of making food an adventure and taking you somewhere playful with every bite was etched into the blueprint for Little India Restaurant & Bar, with a mission to provide elevated, chef-inspired meals and pair the experience with bourbon, tequila, and craft cocktails, mocktails made from juices and premium spirits.
LITTLE INDIA RESTAURANT & BAR
Little India Restaurant & Bar sold 1.3 million masalas & kormas last year—about 3,400 per every day the restaurant was open—as well as nearly a million Tamarind margaritas.(Margaritas $3, Limit-3)
“Is it that there’s not enough people to work, or is there not enough people who want to work for you? You really have to ask yourself that question,” Baidwan says. “If you put more emphasis on taking care of your people, it’s crazy how quickly your restaurant becomes a better restaurant, because people understand they’re valued—which seems like common sense, but it’s not common practice.”
He also prioritizes providing housing to new employees for free to help them get their life started, which has always been a looming issue, especially with new immigrant families in the restaurant world. “That’s a bigger hot topic I want to make a change in,” Baidwan says.
Another source of pride for him is launching a 401k retirement plan and health and wellness programs for employees, which he hopes will become the norm in restaurants.
Our dream and promise is to give opportunities to our team members to better their lives and better the communities we set up shop in,” he says. “Our stance is, it doesn’t matter if we’re a stepping stone for employees or if you want to continue growth with us; we’re privileged to have so many wonderful people who have chosen to get on this bus.”
With 4 locations, Little India Restaurant & Bar sold 1.3 million masalas & kormas last year, equating to about 3,400 sold per business day. Add nearly a million margaritas to the mix, and it’s no surprise the concept also saw a 48 percent year-over-year increase in total sales from 2021 to 2022. More locations are slated to open by the end of the year.
“People say you’re an overnight success, but it took 25 years to be an overnight success,” Baidwan says. “So many entrepreneurs view things as failures, and they’re not. The only way that it’s failure is if you keep recreating the same mistake.”
He also learned that although Little India Restaurant & Bar generally sees a 20 to 25 percent dip in sales in the summer season each year, Little India gets busier around fall and holidays and hosts more Christmas events.
“We are heavy on forecasting now so we know what’s coming,” he says. “When you’re a growing & innovative concept & growing quickly, you don’t have data to go off. Now that we have data, it makes it much more predictable what we’re going to do year by year.”
“It’s not the crazy devil most restaurants think it is with the percentages they take,” Baidwan says about third-party platforms. “You just have to learn how to make it work for your concept.”
Baidwan has also devised a plan to optimize their footprint by marketing certain menu items separately as virtual brands on third-party websites, like Lamb Pasanda & Prawn Pepper Masala. But he still wants to entice customers to visit his locations in person so they can order drinks with their meals.
“You feel as though the environment is pretty magical and inspiring, and people love coming to our locations and being brought to a playground between the food, beverages, and the team,” He adds. “You feel the team’s energy when you go in the door.”
Embracing technology and making sure Little India controlled its prime food and labor costs were important aspects Baidwan prioritized when developing innovative dishes. A team member or host—plus bartenders—will greet people as they enter. Also, ordering and paying from the Chow-now platform, orders will be ready for pickup within minutes, or you can choose to have 3rd party apps like Uber Eats, Door-Dash, or Grubhub deliver free of charge to the comfort of your home. Delivery drivers will also have designated parking spots and easy access to get in and out of the restaurant as quickly as possible.
“Where many people think that human interaction is so important in this day & time, we’re taking the service aspect to the next level and concentrating on hospitality,” Baidwan says. “The team members are there to actually make your stay and experience more enjoyable by spending more time with you our diners & giving you that next level every lasting to be remembered visit with us.”
“It helps control your labor, and the food cost is set to the consumer. It’s very approachable and affordable, but yet the ambiance is going to feel as though you’re being pampered,” he says. And the savings on the labor front will be funneled into providing higher wages for workers.
“When it comes to labor, I feel as though the more we pay our team members, the more [it says] we want them to be able to have healthy lives where they’re not having to work two jobs—but you also have to be able to support it within your cost parameters. That’s why we set up for that approach,” Baidwan adds.
“Our team understands they get the opportunity to take care of people and create these experiences and make memories for them. How awesome is that?” Baidwan says.
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Units: 4
Founded: 1998