When Mumbai boy Riyaaz Amlani dived into the restaurant business 16 years ago, he probaby wouldn’t have imagined that in less than two decades and in a competitive space, he would own 44 restaurants across India.

Starting with a chain of coffee shops called Mocha, and many other ventures later, today, Riyaaz is best-known for his popular day cafés and bars by the name of Social. “There are so many aspects that go into creating a restaurant. It is difficult to pinpoint only one. You have to be tenacious, hardworking, bright, sociable, passionate, have great understanding of the socio-political environment, awareness of pop art and to be able to connect so many different dots to create one great experience,” says the entrepreneur,  who is also a judge on a reality show called Grilled, which aims at helping aspiring food entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.

Even though the food business in India has witnessed massive growth in the past few years, Riyaaz says this is just the beginining. “It is going to grow higher and higher,” he adds.

As far as advice for budding entrepreneurs is concerned, Riyaaz has a straight one, and says, “If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, then I would suggest that you should not get into the restaurant business, but if you are an aspiring restaurateur, then I would suggest that you need to have a lot of guts and bravery to succeed in the restaurant business.”