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Indian Express

Around Town: 65 years of Cream Centre — How a young Punjabi ice cream maker built an all-vegetarian restaurant that became a South Bombay icon

Sixty-five years ago, in April 1958, a young Ramesh Chona, who had come to India from Karachi during Partition, was running an ice cream manufacturing unit in Worli when he was presented with an opportunity: a shop right in front of Chowpatty in South Bombay. He decided to take it up and turn it into a restaurant. There was only one catch — the building belonged to a Jain, and the owner wanted it to be an all-vegetarian establishment. Ramesh Chona, a Punjabi, had no qualms about meat, but he chose to honour the owner's request and opened an all-vegetarian Punjabi restaurant. He named it after his ice cream business: Cream Centre. What began as a restriction turned out to be a blessing. Cream Centre quickly became a magnet for everyone, from the who's who of the business community to the Gujaratis in the diamond business in the close vicinity, to the vegetarian Marwaris and Gujaratis of Bombay, and eventually, the whole city. On weekends, it wasn't unusual to see long queues outside the restaurant. Its Channa Bhatura, a thick, spiced channa gravy paired with fluffy bhaturas and served with carrot pickle and onion, earned cult status and continues to be its bestselling item. Sanjiv Chona was only 19 when he took over the reins of the restaurant after the sudden passing of his father. An ambitious man with a refined taste for global cuisine, he went on to launch a string of restaurants over the years, including The New Yorker, which launched with an impressive graphic-novel style menu and hits like loaded nachos and baked pastas (which he exited in 1997 after parting ways with his cousin), as well as Bombay Blue, Noodle Bar, Spaghetti Kitchen, Gelato Italiano, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf under the Blue Foods banner. Some of those global favourites, from Mexican to Chinese and Italian, eventually made their way to Cream Centre and became instant hits. Think onion rings, sizzling brownie, sizzlers, and especially the trademarked World's Best Nachos, made with house-crafted chips topped with a generous dose of their secret melted cheese sauce. 'I have a friend who manufactures cheese, and he was over at the restaurant when we decided to create a special cheese sauce for our nachos. He makes it only for us,' shared Sanjiv, who has revamped the OG Chowpatty outpost with his architect friend Ajit Shilpi to mark the brand's milestone. Commanding attention at the revamped outpost is a striking piece from Telangana-based artist Thota Vaikuntam's My Dancing Shiva series. The decision to make Cream Centre a multi-cuisine restaurant was rooted in its diverse clientele. 'We often see three, sometimes four generations sharing a table. We needed a menu that catered to all of them,' said Sanjiv, adding, 'Aren't most of our pre-meal fights about where to eat? So often, a group changes restaurants because the one they chose doesn't have pizza for the child.' Another crowd-favourite — American Cheese Corn Balls — was the contribution of his wife, Sabina, who held the fort at Cream Centre while Sanjiv was busy expanding the Blue Foods empire (which he exited around 2008). Despite its success, Cream Centre didn't expand until 2010. 'I was busy launching other restaurants,' said Sanjiv. It was around 2009-10 that he turned his attention back to the brand. 'My daughter Alisha had returned from Oxford after completing her MBA. I had decided not to enter any new partnerships, and together, we began expanding Cream Centre — launching around 14-15 restaurants, some family-owned, some franchised,' he explained. More recently, his son Rishi joined the business as CEO, and the father-son duo now plans to double the current footprint of 30 outlets. 'We see Bengaluru as a big market. We're eyeing six locations there, two in Pune, and about four more in Bombay. We're also planning to re-enter Dubai; we had an outlet there that shut during Covid,' he said. When asked about further international expansion, he showed us over 4,000 franchise interest emails from across the globe. 'But we only want to take on what we can manage. Quality has to be maintained. In India, we have a robust system, but replicating that globally isn't feasible yet.' To celebrate its 65th anniversary, the brand has relaunched its logo and introduced new items such as guacamole with tortilla chips, sizzling cheese Mexican fries, Mumbai vada pav, rice bowls, and baked Delhi kulcha. Rishi, described by his father as health-conscious, has brought that sensibility to the menu with options like Tandoori Soya Chaap. The dessert menu has now been taken over by Ice Cream Works, a company Sanjiv co-founded with Alisha eight years ago. Expect indulgent offerings like sundaes, Dubai chocolate kunafa, cheesecake, and angoori gulab jamun. 'Our new menu is a reflection of change, without the change. It proves that the classic and the contemporary can co-exist harmoniously,' Sanjiv said. The revamped outpost opens to the public today (August 9) and also boasts a comprehensive Jain menu, with everything from chaats to appetisers and mains across cuisines.