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Is Mumbai seeing a revival of Irani cafes?

With SodaBottleOpenerwala opening its doors to the city of its inspiration—Bombay, and Cafe Irani Chaii all set to open in Mahim, Pooja Bhula finds out whether a revival of Irani cafés is in the offing and what it's going to take the old ones to survive

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1: Koolar cafe, Matunga 2: Raspberry soda and thick cheesy masala French fries on a typical Irani cafe-style tablecloth, at SBOW 3: Bakes at B. Merwan’s
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With Bandra now being the hub of the hip and BKC known for its classy yet experimental restaurants, A.D. Singh couldn't have chosen a better place to re-launch the concept of Irani cafés in Mumbai. SodaBottleOpenerWala and its menu are just what he wanted them to be—a dedication to Irani cafes and to the Maximum city, but with new-age appeal.

"The youth don't have the same connect with Irani cafés that the older patrons do; one has to keep up with the times, capture new markets," he says. So SBOW provides nostalgia through posters of old movies, the jukebox, the red-and-white chequered cloth as well as dishes like the bun maska, berry pulav and sali chicken. And it's all served with a dash of Parsi humour—a board hung on the wall reads: No flirting. No laughing unnecessarily. No picking nose... It documents this Irani heritage by the way of Mumbai map, near the bar, that's pinned with the city's remaining Irani shops and also through details on the menu informing you about things such as their Shrewsbury biscuit is inspired from Pune's Kayani and Chicken Sanjubaba is a tribute to the original at Noor Mohammadi Hotel. Besides the sleek ambience, the fresh vibe comes from ideas like Spicy Mushroom on Khari and servings of beverage shots in tiny bottles. Some traditionalists may raise their nose at the presence of a bar,but spirits are served at Irani cafés Mondegar and Leopold too.

New cafe, old roots
SodaBottleOpenerwala, which already has branches in Gurgaon, Delhi and Bangalore, is not the only new eatery recalling the glorious past. Filmmaker Mansoor Showqhi Yezdi will soon open doors to Café Irani Chaii at Mahim. While he won't serve alcohol, like SBOW, he too will have Indian dishes besides the usual Irani-café fare. What you should also look forward to is some less-known Irani dishes, both vegetarian and meat-based, that he plans to plate out.

If you've ever wondered why Bombay's Irani cafés are so unique, his ancestor's story may offer part of the answer. "My grandfather and many others walked it to India, from Iran. Almost every evening they would meet at someplace and there would be someone serving chai to all. One day, a member then asked the person to start charging for chai and soon Irani chai shops sprouted. The community was poor, but good at baking (we have our own type of naan), so we quickly learnt how to make buns and pastries from Goans in the city. They had many bakeries, especially in Dhobi Talao, and preferred to sell them to us. And it was locals from Uttar Pradesh, who taught us how to make khari. As we loved experimenting, we also came up with our own ideas. That's how it all began." His café's prices also won't be low (SBOW's rates go up to Rs. 600, a dish), but he'll give discounts to students and cyclists, and will support artists and strugglers in other mediums.

The solution? Adapt, but alone
Reinventing seems to be the way forward. It's also why the likes of Britannia and Koolar and Co. have survived and shops such as Merwans Cake Stop are expanding, while the number of Irani cafés is dwindling—from about 450 in 1970s, we are left with less than 30 today. When Ali Koolarzade took over the now 100-year-old café in Matunga from his father, he added to the original menu, the then unheard of Wrestler's Omelette as well as buns and Maggi in a variety of flavours. "I wanted to keep beer, but my father refused. Others also advised against it as this is a residential area," says Ali.

Besides giving the café a new lease of life then, what has probably worked in his favour is that he's the sole decision maker for his outlet. In the case of many Irani cafés, too many cooks have spoilt the broth. While partnerships were the right approach in the early days, when Iranis needed to pool in their limited resources to start these eateries, "not anymore," Ali shares candidly. Several other Irani cafe owners agree as well and admit that those with partners won't survive today because Iranis are "ziddi and hot tempered". The lack of consensus on the way ahead among partners' kids, who inherited the cafés, has led them to go their own way. It has also served them well to sell of that land as property today fetches such good rates. Ali believes "it would be foolish today to open an Irani café on rented space". Koolar café still retains the ambience of antiquity, which he admits lures people into shooting ads and films here, but he has still had to hike the prices (going upto Rs. 250). "Now we largely get office goers. And as Irani cafes no more entertain riff-raffs, you'll find more women, unlike in the olden days when women rarely dared to enter."

But transition is never easy. Ask Farokh Shokhri of Kayani, at Metro. "With the passage of time, I had to give the restaurant as much importance as the bakery; offering cakes wasn't enough. And at some point I'll have to increase the prices (Kayani's are yet to cross Rs. 100) too. But if I go above the market value, I'll lose my customers."

Would he consider the franchise route like Merwans Cake Stop? "Franchise would require a lot of research and professional help. Then it's also tough to assure quality and we have a brand name to keep." He's here to stay and is hopeful that his son will take over; very few young Iranis want this family business today for reasons ranging for better opportunities within and outside India to good-quality education that makes them feel they'd be better utilised elsewhere rather than running the show in these cafes and sitting on the 'galla' (cash counter).  "It takes passion and sacrifice to run a place like this," adds Farokh.

Sure it does. Sarosh of B. Merwan, opposite Grant Road station, doesn't attend most family parties as they start late and he has to open his shop very early.  But he won't change the timings and like Farokh, not the rates much either. "We start at 5.30 am for vegetable vendors and others workers, who arrive here with the first local train, as nothing else is open at that time." It gently reminds one that the timings and pricing also made Mumbai's Irani cafés what they were traditionally—equalizers that opened doors with just as much warmth to the poor as to the rich.

As Rafiqque Baghdadi, known for his Irani café trails, points out, you can't stop development and you can't bring back the past. Nevertheless, most owners of Irani cafés seem to welcome the fact that a non Irani (A.D. Singh) and someone from their own community has taken interest in preserving their legacy. And well, at least these new cafes and the remaining iconic ones are ensuring that the old charm lingers a little longer…

Trending Around The World
> Last year an Indian-origin restaurateur, in the UK, started the chain 'Dhishoom, from Bombay with love' that's completely inspired by Mumbai's Irani cafés.

> Paris' MG Road that has Irani-cafe-style interiors, serves pan-Indian food and Rafiqque Baghdadi tells us many in France are doing PhDs on Irani cafés.

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