In an exclusive interaction with HospitalityBiz India, Chefpreneur, Om Nayak, co-founder of popular Bomaby street food brand, Bombay Meri Jaan, and founder of Pasta Bowl Company, talks about his aggressive expansion plans for both the brands, and Bombay Meri Jaan in particular.
In a conversation with HospitalityBiz India, Chef Om Nayak said that Bombay Meri Jaan, which currently operates six cloud kitchens across Delhi NCR, is ready to shift gears. “We are getting into physical stores. A lot of marketing, a lot of tech is happening in that,” he said, emphasising that the brand has been built on rigorous processes. “We have standardised the most amazing street food of India, which is Bombay street food. When I say standardised, we work on stringent recipes and SOPs like McDonald’s. We draw a lot of inspiration from McDonald’s because of the standardisation, hygiene, standard operating processes and all of that. We’ve got a notch above them.”
According to him, the focus on consistency, transparency and freshness has become the brand’s biggest differentiator. “The beauty of the whole concept is, it is plastic-free, it is fresh and not frozen. We don’t have anything that is frozen — everything is made to order,” he said, adding that their kitchen preparation time currently stands under eight minutes and will drop under four minutes once physical stores go live. The cloud kitchens, he said, are open for customer inspection at any time. “We proudly tell people to walk into the kitchen and see the hygiene for yourself. We are so confident of it.”
All six existing cloud kitchens are located in Delhi NCR, and the brand’s first phase of expansion will remain NCR-focused. “We’ll be doing about 15 stores — six kitchens and nine stores — in Delhi NCR in phase one by the end of this financial year 2025–26,” he said. But the big jump will follow soon after, with an ambitious plan to scale across India and internationally. “Nobody has ever thought of doing 200 plus stores. That’s what the plan is right now — 200 by 2028–29.”
Chef Nayak said the brand is already in conversations for overseas locations, including properties in the UK, with the same emotional focus that defines the brand identity. “We call it Bombay and not Mumbai, because Mumbai is a city, Bombay is an emotion,” he said, noting that pav — the heart of Bombay street food — is now made fresh in-house. “When we started, we used to airlift it from Bombay, but now we’ve started making it ourselves. I can proudly say we make one of the best pavs in North India right now.”
Across the six cloud kitchens, the brand clocks between 24,000 to 30,000 monthly orders. Daily output varies by location, with high-volume kitchens operating at 150–200 orders a day, translating to roughly 600 dishes. The top sellers remain Vada Pav, Dabeli, Pav Bhaji and Bombay Sandwich.
All nine upcoming outlets will be company-owned. “We are not franchising; it is all going to be company-owned outlets right now,” he said. Expansion plans include high-street markets, malls, food courts and institutional hubs.
The scale-up will require capital infusion, and Chef Nayak confirmed that the brand is preparing for its first funding round. “We are trying to raise our round one right now, and as soon as that happens, which we are hoping for early next year… but pre-that, we are not stopping the expansion. Our internal ecosystem has been created quite healthy to support our own growth.”
Alongside Bombay Meri Jaan, Chef Nayak continues to expand The Pasta Bowl Company, his acclaimed Italian restaurant brand. Currently operating a single 40-seater outlet, the brand has earned a loyal following of celebrities, HNIs and sports personalities. “We take a lot of pride in our ingredients and our people. I’m proud to have the team that I have,” he said.
Two new Pasta Bowl outlets will open soon, with one starting construction early next year. Franchise plans are not on the table for now. “Maybe we will have strategic partnerships, but not exactly franchises,” he added.
