Ohri’s group has always found ways to surprise its guests with unique themed restaurants in the city. #KhabarLive caught up with Amar Ohri, Executive Director of the Ohri’s Group, to know further about gastronomy, how he keeps up with competition and comes up with something new and different each time.
Serving great culinary experience since 1976, you’ll be spoilt for choice by the number of Ohri’s restaurants present in the city. From a jungle-themed restaurant like Ohri’s Serengeti, to a royal fine dining restaurant like Ohri’s Sahib’s, the Ohri’s group can cater to everyone’s needs with each restaurant having a fascinating theme adding to the dining experience. This group of restaurants has been growing immensely in the city with its variety of cuisines and how!
Having done his MBA from the USA, Amar Ohri, Executive Director of the Ohri’s group, holds an enriching background in Business Management, with a strong understanding of hospitality that his BBA Management degree from Switzerland brought him. He joined his father, Mr Ravi Ohri, soon after his education, to learn from the best and to bring a modern, fresh aspect to the ever-evolving hospitality industry.
Leading a company that has over 20 restaurants and 3 hotels, Ohri’s has won the National Award for Best Multi-cuisine Court Complex, H&FS, Best Restaurant of the year by ACP (Association of Catering Professionals ), Tourism Award for Excellence, the government of Andhra Pradesh, and many more, under his leadership.
For Amar Ohri, getting into the field of hospitality was imbibed into his DNA from a very young age. He would assist his father and grandfather to learn about the company inside out. “You could say I am a born hotelier, if that’s a thing. Quite literally, we lived next to Ohri’s Basera in Secunderabad, and I spent most of my childhood in our kitchens, restaurants etc. I think hospitality is in my DNA and is definitely my passion,” shares Amar.
With a keen interest in technology, design, travel and anything creative, he is a very spiritual person by nature and believes in approaching life in a positive way, throughout.
When asked how different today’s hospitality industry is, when compared to yesteryears, Amar replies, “Hospitality and the restaurant industry are one of the most volatile industries, almost second to the fashion industry, trends keep changing here in our industry. This was not the case a few years ago when the approach was, though aspirational but very plain-vanilla, in comparison to today’s scenario. Today, due to the growing wallet size and exposure to world cuisine and access to the latest trends, guests now have an increased expectation from each outlet and moreover, there are a lot of players who are re-inventing and re-writing the rules of the game – be it from the molecular gastronomy trend a few years ago, to the farm to fork, that is catching up or even the popularisation of the plant-based meat, the list is exhaustive. Having said that, with our personal experience we can say that irrespective of the trends that come and go, guests do keep coming back to a place that can give them comfort food.”
Sharing his earliest memories with Ohri’s, Amar says, “My earliest memories were when we would sell Chole Bhature as per a secret recipe of my grandmother in Basheerbagh. Also, our ice-creams were my favourite. My primary motivation to join the food business was not because my father had created it, but it was my love for food and innovation. I knew that Hyderabad in the early 2000’s was deprived of any experiential dining options, thus we created the trend of introducing innovative themed dining restaurants which the city and its visitors loved a lot.”
With successful business comes the challenge to sustain the competition and live up to its standards. Explaining how they manage to remain as one of the bests in the city, Amar shares, “One of our largest focus areas and the topmost priority is and always has been – customer satisfaction, and our team and I dedicate a lot of energy and time to ensure that we have it on point. In my opinion, that has been our key to all the love and affection that we receive from our customers. Honestly, anyone in the hospitality industry that has a lot of love and affection from their customers can never fail and will always have an edge over other competitors. If it doesn’t sound too conceating we are actually trying to achieve a larger pie of customers only from the competitors who are aligned with a similar focus on ‘customer satisfaction.”
“I am not a very materialistic person and honestly, while I do care for roaring numbers on our balance sheets, what actually fuels me is a contented smile on the face of our team and our guests. I personally feel that if you manage to achieve that, the rest of the things will follow in line. My personal thought is that the day either your team or your customer is not content, it is actually the beginning of the end. Thus, if one has to achieve any heights, especially in the hospitality and restaurant business as the head of the family, the only thing that should inspire you is the continued support from your team and guests. I think that is what inspires me,” adds he.
What is his definition of a fine-dining restaurant? He answers, “A few years ago I would say that it is a place that serves classical cuisines in a classical style. But today it is poles apart from its original definition. Today I believe that a restaurant that serves innovative and attractive concept cuisine is a fine dining restaurant.”
How is Hyderabad special to Ohri’s? He shares, “Hyderabad is our heart and soul, it is what defines Ohri’s and we are proud that we have been able to contribute in a small way to enhance the glory of the city. No matter wherever we expand and grow, you can take Ohri’s out of Hyderabad but you cannot take Hyderabad out of Ohri’s. I cannot stress the importance of the city, as it is our inspiration to create one of our leading brands ‘ Sahibs BBQ by Ohri’s.” #KhabarLive #hydnews
