Royal Alina’s Bakery Café is one of the oldest and most popular chain restaurants in the valley. It was jointly founded in 1992 by Arjun Bhandari and his business partner Shankar Gurung. Their first outlet was opened in Jawalakhel with an invest­ment of Rs 200,000. The initial space was small with only four sets of tables and chairs and they served piping hot coffee and food. “At that time, most people assumed a restaurant was a place only to gam­ble and drink alcohol. Also there were very few restaurants and not many people visited them,” recalls Bhandari. Royal Alina’s Bakery Café not only helped cre­ate unique restaurant experience in Kathmandu, but also motivated up-and-coming entrepreneurs to emulate its success story. Bhandari, who hails from Ramechhap district, started in the business by working at various restaurants under different capac­ities: helper, waiter, cook, cleaner, etc. He used the experience to acquire intimate knowledge about customer taste and the ambience they prefer.

 

Sensing untapped potential, Bhan­dari partnered with Gurung to open a family-friendly restaurant. After a year of opening their first outlet in Jawalakhel, they opened their second outlet in New Baneswor in 1993. “We created an environment where children could play inside our premises while enjoying hearty meals and soft drinks with their parents. We did not serve alcohol for the first seven years at Alina’s,” adds Bhandari.

 

Royal Alina’s has a long legacy of serving quality meals to its cus­tomers. “Our customers range from college students, dating couples, businesspeople, working class people, to government employ­ees,” adds Bhandari. Now, the café has managed to hold its own in terms of services offered, hos­pitality, customer satisfaction and unique coffee flavors.

 

“Right now, we’re conducting fea­sibility studies for two locations outside the valley. If everything goes well, we will soon be opening new branches in Pokhara and Chitwan,” adds Bhandari. “As veterans of the coffeehouse industry in the country, we plan to further integrate interna­tional norms and standards in our business.”

 

The distinctive feature of newly revamped outlets of the Royal Alina’s Bakery Cafe are the intri­cately detailed murals show­ing landscapes, villages, and the overall majestic beauty of Nepal. “This helps our customers know about various places of Nepal and motivates them, especially foreigners, to visit such places. We have also given names of the beautiful lakes such as Fewa, Rara and Begnas to our three meet­ing rooms, which are fully equipped with sound-proof materials to block outside noise,” explains Bhandari.

 

Asked about the challenges to managing a chain restaurant, Bhan­dari believes the key is to focus on customer satisfaction, quality con­tent, friendly ambience and efficient human resources. “If our service staff are happy, positive vibe spreads all around,” says Bhandari.