PUNE: The high-end restaurant operator Impresario will open 8-12 new Social outlets in the city over the next two years, for which it will invest close to Rs 20-30 crore.
The first Social outlet — Viman Nagar Social — was opened on March 8 at the Phoenix mall.

Impresario’s CEO and managing director Riyaaz Amlani told TOI that Social is aimed at youth in 21-35 age group, of which there are plenty in Pune.

Social is a concept chain that relies on keeping operational cost low and breaking even faster than other chains. With the Social chain, Amlani is also trying to experiment with something unique. To put to use the space better on weekdays (when footfalls are low), he has introduced the concept of using the restaurant as a co-working space.

“The idea is to build a core clientele. We charge only Rs 5,000 a month and patrons can redeem the same against food and drinks. So, the space, electricity and wi-fi is completely free of cost,” he said.

At Social, the design of each set-up is inspired by the local culture. In fact, the furniture and memorabilia are sourced from places like chor-bazaar and juna-bazaar of the respective cities. Even the way of serving is designed to appeal to the youth, what with a very college style serving of a few dishes.

Impresario also operates chain of other high-end restaurants like Smoke House Deli, Mocha, Salt Water Cafe – some of them in other cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Some of this, Impresario, does not plan to bring to Pune right away. Reason: Amlani believes that Pune is more rooted to its flavour compared to some of the other cities.