Source- The Indian Express
Deepak Nirula, who was one of the leading founders of the fast food chain Nirula's passed away at the age of 70 on October 4, 2022. The fast-food chain is often credited with introducing fast food items like burgers, pizzas, and desserts like hot chocolate fudge, banana split, and love 21, which are cherished to date by people across the country.
Nirula introduced India to the world of fast food long before international fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Domino’s started to dominate the palates of Indians.
Foundation of Nirula's
Nirula’s restaurant was started in the year 1934 by brothers Lakshmi Chand and Madan Gopal Nirula as a hotel and a restaurant in Connaught Place, Delhi, and soon after Nirula’s became the country’s first home-grown fast-food chain popular for its pizzas, burgers, hot chocolate fudge, and ice creams in 21 flavors, years before McDonald’s opened its first outlet in Delhi.
Navis Capital Partners bought Nirula's Group in 2006 and a year later, Nirula's opened India's first ice cream museum inside its ice cream factory in Noida. In the same year, the chain introduced three new outlet formats, including "Nirula's Express", Food Court Unit, and Ice-Cream Kiosks, with the first Express outlet opening at the Delhi Airport.
In 2012, Navis Capital Partners agreed to sell its 100 percent stake in Nirula's Group to A2Z Excursions Pvt. Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
Presently, Nirula’s chain has 77 outlets across North India, in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bhiwadi, Dehradun, and Patna out of which 43 are ice cream parlors.
Recently Nirula's opened its first franchise in Patna, its first outlet in the east zone. However, most of its outlets are found in North India only. Apart from their first Connaught Place outlet, Nirula’s outlets at Chanakya Cinema Complex, Basant Lok market in Vasant Vihar, and Defence Colony were also among the most popular ones.
The Legacy of Deepak Nirula
Deepak Nirula, who passed away on October 4 had a keen interest in all aspects of the business, running all operations, including its commissary. He was very punctual and came to the office at 8 am sharp, his partner mentioned.
He was educated in the US and introduced a new ambiance, mechanized operations at the outlets, and expanded the chain at a rapid pace that was never witnessed before in the history of fast food chains in India. People who knew him remember him as a humble, enterprising person who was extremely passionate about food.
Deepak Nirula was the son of Madan Gopal Nirula, who made the brand ‘Nirula’ famous across north India. He leaves behind a legacy that will live on in iconic offerings at Nirula’s in the form of some of its favorites- hot chocolate fudge, ice creams, sundaes, burgers, and pizzas.
How Nirula’s Gained Popularity
In 1934, brothers Lakshmi Chand Nirula and Madan Gopal Nirula opened Hotel India in Connaught Place in Delhi with only 12 rooms, a restaurant, and a bar. The Nirula brothers had come to Delhi in 1928 and had tried their luck at various other professions before settling in on their idea of a fast food chain.
However, they soon realized the paucity of good eating places in and around the Capital and decided to do something about the same. Though they were completely new to the business, they launched the family-run hotel a few yearslatere. In the 1940s, the brothers went on to introduce espresso coffee in the Capital and opened up the Indian Coffee Shop on Janpath in the same city.
It does not come as a surprise that three decades later, the family also pioneered another revolution in the heart of Delhi – the fast-food revolution. In 1977, their sons, Lalit and Dipak Nirula launched Nirula’s, putting together a menu that was never heard of in India before, replete with pizzas, footlongs, ice creams, and of course, the much-famous hot chocolate fudge.
Conclusion
Though the country has lost one of the pioneers of the fast-food revolution of India, all the 90s kids will remember the ice cream man of India while devouring the hot chocolate fudge at their nearest Nirula outlet.
Written by Chitra Gangwani
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