May 6, 2024 • 30 mins
On this episode of Retail Intel, Brian Sheehan is with Amrit and Prabhjot Nijjar, the owners and operators of Tandoori Pizza! They give us the saucy details on their unique Indian-style pizza creations that are guaranteed to make your mouth water! Their slogan, “a little heat, a lot of heart”, truly describes their mission when it comes to their food.
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Episode Transcript
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Brian Sheehan (00:04):
Welcome to Retail Intel, the podcast where we
dive deep into the dynamic worldof commercial real estate.
I'm your host, brian Sheehan,and I'm thrilled to be your
guide on this journey throughthe bustling streets of retail,
the aisles of shopping centersand the world of property
investment.
With me today I have Amrit andPrabhjit.
Amrit owns a few locations andPrabhjit is the marketing
(00:27):
executive for Tandoori Pizza,and their slogan a little heat,
a lot of heart truly describestheir mission when it comes to
pizza.
They've been taking their pride, love and inspiration of the
fusion of Indian cuisine andpizza for the last several years
through expansion of thisexciting concept.
How are you Good?
(00:48):
Good Thanks for having us,brian.
Prabhjot Nijjar (00:50):
Appreciate being here.
Thank you.
Brian Sheehan (00:52):
Yeah, thanks for joining me.
Yeah, so I'd love to start withyour background.
What got you interested inpizza?
What were you both doing priorto launching or being involved
in the launch of Tandoori Pizza?
Amrit Nijjar (01:05):
So probably I'll let you go ahead, ladies first.
Prabhjot Nijjar (01:09):
I appreciate it .
Thank you.
Actually, I'm just going to goahead and start off with TJ's
Journey, who is actually themain owner for Tandoori Pizza,
and before he actually was apart of the business, he went to
UC Davis.
He was an Aggie and he studiedin business there.
It's one of those things like Irelated to him because I
(01:31):
graduated from UC Davis as well,so it was really cool seeing
somebody with that samebackground.
And, yeah, so he wanted to dosomething different.
He didn't want to follow thetraditional path of, you know,
just going to school, finding ajob in the corporate world and
going through that cookie cutterpath, but he wanted to do
something that was unique and,being in a primarily area of
like a lot of Indians andworking with a lot of family, he
(01:52):
wanted to go ahead and startsomething that allowed him to go
out and bring his passion ofcooking to the world.
So that's what brought us hereto Tenderi Pizza.
Amrit Nijjar (02:02):
Yeah, definitely, I mean Tenderi Pizza.
We first opened our doors in2015 in our Dublin California
location, which was owned andoperated by Dajinder Singh
himself, and this started out.
You know, like Prabh mentioned,this was just for family events
and it was just something thatmy cousin was bringing over and
(02:22):
it just intrigued us and, youknow, having those bland pizzas
and just the traditional redsauce and the creamy garlic
sauce, it gets boring after awhile.
So it was really connectingback to our roots, also with the
spices and giving it thatflavor, really having us, you
know, look forward to thosefamily parties and whatnot,
being excited that hey, brother,tj is going to bring some pizza
(02:45):
today and whatnot.
So it was something that wasn'taround back then in 2015.
It wasn't something that wascommon as well.
So it was definitely somethingthat was a great opportunity for
us to go ahead and grow on aswell, so incredible Been to so
many family gatherings, events,neighborhood parties.
Brian Sheehan (03:02):
I've never had anyone bring anything like this
to the gathering.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:06):
Yeah, it's definitely unique.
Brian Sheehan (03:08):
Well, let's talk about what makes it unique.
So some of the favorite flavors, I guess that you have.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:14):
Where do you want to go?
Amrit Nijjar (03:15):
So my personal favorite would definitely have
to be the tandoori chicken.
It's our house special pizza,you know, with the creamy garlic
sauce base.
So we stick with that creamygarlic traditional creamy garlic
on that base, with mozzarellacheese, with bell peppers,
onions, tomatoes, that we diceup with grilled chicken high
quality grilled chicken thatwe're using and that we're
marinating with the tandoorispices and masalas to give it a
(03:37):
little more flavor.
Well, I wouldn't say a littlemore, a lot more flavor and just
giving it something differentthan a lot of taste buds are
used to as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:46):
Yeah, and for me it definitely has to be the
chili paneer, because I'm avegetarian, so it's one of the
house favorites as well.
Whoever comes by and I makethat recommendation they
definitely enjoy it.
So that's great, and youdefinitely can't go wrong
pairing it with some desi sticks.
Brian Sheehan (04:01):
It sounds amazing and I appreciate you both
sharing that.
Stacey Sticks it sounds amazingand I appreciate you both
sharing that.
What is it about Indian cuisinethat makes pizza a good
category for experiencing theseflavors?
Amrit Nijjar (04:12):
I would say everything I mean.
Let's just start off withAmerica itself.
America was founded byChristopher Columbus, who came
in search of India to do a spicetrade.
So it's sometimes I joke aroundwith my buddies and I'm like,
hey, I have the spice thatChristopher Columbus came
looking for.
So it's like, hey, we'rebringing that spice and we're
(04:35):
combining it onto pizza.
A lot of people around theworld are used to pizza, but
they're not used to pizza onthat type of level and spice and
combinations as well used topizza on that type of level and
spice and combinations as well.
So yeah, I feel like pizza is auniversal food and giving it
that flavor and that mix withdifferent types of cuisines or
ethnicities and whatnot, itreally gives it a lot more
flavor and a diverseness as well.
Brian Sheehan (04:57):
It's something you know often.
Think about that journey tofind flavors and think about
your experience in hospitalityand the restaurant business, how
people are journeying to findyou in this exciting new fusion
cuisine.
What is it about thehospitality and restaurant
(05:18):
business that has you guysexcited?
Amrit Nijjar (05:21):
I would definitely say it's every day.
Every day is a new day and it'sgreat to meet new people on a
daily basis.
You know some coming in to pickup a pizza for their birthday
parties.
Just recently, you know,valentine's went by, so some
people coming in to grab a heartshaped pizza for their loved
one, you know, and we get towork with amazing vendors as
(05:41):
well, so it's a greatopportunity for us to go ahead
and really be in the real worldand reality and interact with
people.
I mean, of course, it's not funfor anybody to just sit around
at home and have that, so it's agreat opportunity for us to
have something new and differentevery single day.
And I'll let Prabh go ahead andlet us finish off with her part
(06:03):
, because she does marketing, soshe is managing most of the
customer service issues oranything like that, so she can
go ahead and tell you a lot moreabout it as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (06:13):
Appreciate it.
Thank you, Amrit.
Yeah, for me it would have tobe the same thing as well.
I've been working from home forthe past three, four years and
it's it gets really exhaustingto just be sitting in one place
and not really interacting withpeople just behind like a screen
.
So it's been very cool to beable to meet new people and meet
new vendors and, being themarketing exec and TJ bringing
(06:35):
me along to go ahead and helpwith the brand and its awareness
and getting new people on board, it's been absolutely great
just being able to interact withpeople again and then building
those connections.
So I've had a great time beingable to connect with different
individuals in the East Coast,even here in California, and
just meeting the team andworking with the team.
So it's a great pleasure.
Brian Sheehan (06:56):
Did I hear correctly that you guys are
partnering or working with theSacramento Kings?
Prabhjot Nijjar (07:02):
Yeah, we're definitely very excited about
that opportunity with theSacramento Kings.
Yeah, we're definitely veryexcited about that opportunity.
We just went ahead and, I guess, built out a collab for one of
the events that are coming up,and they're doing a pop up for a
holy event that's happening inMarch.
So we're very excited to go outand partner with them and
introduce our flavors to theSacramento area before we end up
branching out and having abrick and mortar location out
there as well.
(07:22):
So we're very excited.
Brian Sheehan (07:31):
That's great Congratulations.
So what?
Amrit Nijjar (07:32):
experience did you have with commercial real
estate prior to Tandoori Pizza?
So me personally, you know I'vebeen with Tandoori Pizza ever
since I was 15 years old, soI've really had no other type of
experience other than that, youknow, just being around my
cousin and being around thatenvironment, being around the
business and just learning handson every day to day.
And then now I have a couple oflocations under my belt with
(07:53):
the real estate side of it, themarket side of it, as well as
learning, you know, the foodside of it as well.
So definitely there's a mixtureof those.
Brian Sheehan (08:02):
I wanted to jump back a second where we were
talking about the differentflavors and, for someone that
hasn't been there, had thechance to experience Tandoori
pizza.
Yet you talk a little moreabout some of the flavors and
spices that you use.
What am I going to notice youknow flavor wise when I have
(08:23):
that first experience.
Amrit Nijjar (08:24):
Definitely the first bite.
A lot of people they'rehesitant to take that first bite
because they think that it'sgoing to be that sharp type of
spice, let's say like a habaneroor a serrano pepper or a
jalapeno or something like that.
But it's really not that.
It's a lot more just havingflavor from the different types
of spices that we ground up andmix together to make the
(08:46):
marination for the item thatwe're making.
It's just the flavor from thosekind of things.
It's truly unexplainable.
But it's definitely not spicy,but flavorful would be the right
word.
Prabhjot Nijjar (08:58):
Yeah.
Brian Sheehan (08:59):
Probs or anything you wanted to add there.
Prabhjot Nijjar (09:01):
Yeah, I mean adding on to that.
I just think that it's prettygreat just being able to like
bring that, bring in indianspices, that combination that
amrit had touched on earlier.
I mean the masala pesto beingone of them.
It's just very common indianbasic spices that we use and you
mix that in with the pesto andadd just like a bit of a kick
which brings in one of thoseunique flavors onto the pizzas.
(09:22):
Um, another one would be themalai sauce, which isn't very
spicy or doesn't pack like a lotof a punch, but you can just
have those very granular, justdifferent tastes that you don't
really notice on day to day, butit's there.
So it's very cool just beingable to like incorporate those
in the most easiest one and themost prevalent one, it has to be
(09:45):
the Desi sticks, which iscombination of ginger, garlic,
chilies, pineapple, and you seeall those ingredients on there
and you can just know what packsthat kick.
So it's pretty awesome justbeing able to like tie those
flavors in together.
Brian Sheehan (10:00):
It sounds amazing Ginger garlic, chilies and
pineapple.
Prabhjot Nijjar (10:05):
It definitely is a good one.
Brian Sheehan (10:07):
And what makes it a desi stick.
Prabhjot Nijjar (10:09):
Yeah, just those ingredients itself that
bring it in.
I mean, you normally don'tthink of ginger on pizza, you
don't think of just putting onlike straight chilies and you
put on jalapenos but chilies onpizza.
So those are very Indianingredients that we use in our
day-to-day cooking and so addingthem onto the breadsticks make
them, you know, into our desisticks.
So I mean, in the flavorsitself, it's just a
(10:32):
juxtaposition of spices.
So, as Amrit had mentionedearlier, for the tandoori
chicken, you have Indian spicedchicken on a creamy garlic sauce
.
So you have like the best ofboth worlds, which kind of
unites, you know, anyone andeveryone on those flavors.
Amrit Nijjar (10:48):
Yeah, and then definitely a lot of times when
we do have new customers andthey want a non vegetarian type
of pizza, I do recommend thetandoori chicken to them right
off the bat, because tandoorichicken is one of our least, or
I would say, a mid type of spicepizza, because it just has
spice in the chicken itself, notin the sauce.
We do have other sauces asidefrom the creamy garlic or the
(11:09):
traditional red.
We do have our curry sauce, ourmalai sauce, our makhani sauce.
So we do have like a mild,light and a spicy type of sauce.
So the tandoori chicken, thecreamy garlic sauce, really
gives it that toned down spicebut that flavor as well, and
then if somebody would like,they can keep the chicken piece
(11:30):
on there or pick it off if it'stoo spicy for them.
So it is accommodating to thecustomer as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (11:36):
But we haven't heard any complaints so far.
Brian Sheehan (11:39):
It just all sounds so amazing.
I wanted to shift gears herefor a minute and talk about your
real estate needs.
A lot of our listeners aregoing to be brokers, landlords,
property owners and ask you moreabout what you need from a
space and a shopping center.
So I guess first would be let'stalk about the square footage,
(12:00):
size range, footprint of typicalTantori pizza.
Amrit Nijjar (12:05):
So our minimum requirement is definitely 2000
square footage for the location,and we do hope to find that it
is an option where it is aclosed down restaurant or
something where we wouldn't haveto do a complete cut out of the
location.
Let's say, for example, it islike a 30 year or 40 year old
restaurant.
So that doesn't help us eitherin any way, because you know we
(12:27):
have to change plumbing or wehave to change electrical or you
know there's a lot more thingsthat play into it.
So definitely a 2000 squarefoot would be the minimum, and
then any new location works forus as well, Any building out
plazas and as well as any closeddown restaurants as well.
Brian Sheehan (12:46):
Second gen restaurants can be a good fit.
Correct what's the maximumsquare footage that you've done
so far?
Amrit Nijjar (12:54):
We have done around 45, I believe for 4,000
in San Ramon and Fremont.
Those are pretty big locations.
I know Turlock is 3,600 squarefeet.
It's just after Corona.
The bigger dine-in has justdecreased a bit.
But I've noticed in the lastcouple weeks and months I would
say that dine-in has beenpicking back up to what it used
(13:17):
to be before Corona.
So I definitely hope for, and Ido have locations with quite a
bit capacity for the dine-in andI do hope for them to flourish
again.
Okay, so anywhere up to 45would be good, 2,000 to 45.
Brian Sheehan (13:33):
And how many current number of open locations
are there?
I believe 11.
And mostly in California.
Amrit Nijjar (13:40):
Yes, we have, I believe, nine in California and
two in the East Coast.
One just opened up in Queens,new York, and one in Philly.
Brian Sheehan (13:48):
That's exciting.
Is it all corporate?
Is it franchise?
Is it a mix?
Prabhjot Nijjar (13:52):
No, none of them are franchises.
So we're currently working onthat and hopefully it all passes
down smoothly.
But yeah, most of these are allpartnerships and we just work
with different vendors and seehow things go, and we're
actually opening up new locationin Fresno as well, so we're
very excited for that too.
Brian Sheehan (14:11):
How many do you anticipate opening this year?
Prabhjot Nijjar (14:15):
New locations so we have the two that opened
up earlier and then the one thatwe're opening up in Clovis.
We have plans to open up a fewin Sacramento and in Texas as
well.
So hopefully by the end of theyear maybe about five to six new
locations.
So we're anticipating.
You know, we're hoping to goahead and get that going and
(14:35):
then we'll see how it goes fromthere.
Brian Sheehan (14:38):
That's exciting, and how many do you think for
next year, 2025?
Prabhjot Nijjar (14:42):
Same goal.
We want to be able to keep onthat trajectory of opening at
least five to ten new locations,and then we're also planning on
franchising in other states aswell.
So we'll see how it goes.
Right now we're inconversations with a lot of
different folks that have showedinterest in starting up
locations, especially in newyork and in texas, and a lot of
(15:03):
other like central states thathave been developing quite a bit
.
So being a part of that marketwould be a great opportunity for
us and also to like introduceourselves to like many different
people out there.
Brian Sheehan (15:14):
So it sounds like slow and steady growth, correct
?
Slow and steady wins the race,and previously the focus was
primarily in California, but nowyou're starting to look more
nationally.
Yeah, Correct.
Amrit Nijjar (15:28):
I mean, it's a flavor we can't, you know, hold
on to for too long.
We need to get it out there andthen share it with the world.
I mean, that's the only thingthat we're trying to do,
absolutely.
Prabhjot Nijjar (15:37):
So I'm going to dominate the world.
Right now, we're just going todominate the nation.
Brian Sheehan (15:41):
demographics in the communities, where you're
already open, having success,where you're looking in the
future.
Amrit Nijjar (15:55):
Are there certain demographic characteristics,
socioeconomic profile that youneed, you think, in order for
you know tandoori pizza to dowell, I definitely think being
an Indian pizza, a lot of peoplewould assume that we need to
open up in an area where thereis a majority demographic of
Indian people, but that'susually not the case at all.
I mean, what I usually tell mypartners and everybody around me
(16:19):
, my associates is that we livein America.
Right, we're living in a verydiverse country where there's
people from all differentbackgrounds, all different, you
know, nations, ethnicities.
So it's very wrong for us, as abrand, to target one certain
individual or type ofindividuals to go ahead and sell
our product to, and that'sdefinitely not the case.
(16:41):
We're open to anybody andeverybody, all diversities.
I mean we have our Tracylocation, for example, where we
do get a majority of Indians butwe do get a handful.
I would say where we do get 50%Indian, we do have 25 to 30%
diverse crowd of otherethnicities and whatnot.
And then I would say the restwould be like Punjabis and
(17:04):
whatnot.
So there is a huge majority butwhere, as the Turlock, there
isn't a big population of Indianmajority.
So over there there's a mixeddemographics of, you know,
hispanic backgrounds orCaucasian backgrounds and
whatnot.
So they are also appreciated asour customers and loved, and we
(17:24):
love them and you know they'rebringing their business over to
us enjoying our food, and that'swhat we want.
We want to go ahead and shareour food with everyone and not
just one individual type ofpeople or a group of people.
So anywhere, you know, would beideal for us.
Brian Sheehan (17:41):
Sure, what are some of the uses that you like
to see around you?
I guess I'm thinking are youlooking for specialty fitness or
med tail concepts?
Do you like grocery anchoredshopping centers?
What do you guys want to see inthe real estate that you're
evaluating?
Amrit Nijjar (17:58):
I mean a fitness definitely wouldn't work around
pizza, but a grocery outlet isdefinitely something that we
always look for, grocery beingsomewhere that brings a lot of
residential customers as well,and people spend up to 25, 30
minutes in a grocery outlet andthat's how much it can take to
go ahead and get an order readyfor them 20 to 25 minutes.
(18:19):
They can give us a call, goahead and do their shopping,
come out, pick up their pizza,go home and do their dinner
stuff or whatever it may be.
So that's usually the best forus as grocery outlets.
Prabhjot Nijjar (18:30):
I also wanted to add on that quickly, Also
going back to the demographicsand locations and based on where
we like to cater to.
Just a recent experience, weopened up locations in San Jose
over here, and then the one inPhiladelphia, and one thing that
I had noticed in terms of itwas it's a commercial property
with condos and apartments uptop.
So those have been reallyamazing as well, because it
(18:54):
allows residentials to come in.
I mean, one of the things I hadexperienced with these
locations people coming in, likewe've been so excited about,
like you know, you guys comingto the location and for you to
open up, like we were reallyexcited to try out the food.
So it's great being able to bea part of that community, being
a part of the residents lives.
And then other commercial unitsnearby, like people from
(19:15):
different clinics or, forexample, Philly location.
There are clinics nearby, a lotof veterinary clinics, a lot of
salons, a lot of other, likeyou know, small biz restaurants.
So it's very cool interactingwith them and seeing you know
how much they wanted the Andorrapizza to be a part of their
community and we're lookingforward to it.
So when we did our openings forboth of these particularly, we
noticed what the diverse crowdwas like.
(19:36):
It was just a mixture of people, it was a melting pot.
So it was very cool being ableto see everyone come together,
like whether they're families,whether they're friends, whether
they're just there with theirco-workers.
It was a very great experiencebeing able to, like, unite
everyone and bring them togetherthat's exciting, you know.
Brian Sheehan (19:54):
It sounds like you can do well in a variety of
settings and markets, mix ofuses around you everybody needs
to eat absolutely how are?
I would talk a little moreabout your real estate strategy
and those markets.
You you guys were Bay Areafocused.
Got some East Coast developmentgoing on Texas.
It sounds like what's drivingwhere you're looking for real
(20:19):
estate.
Amrit Nijjar (20:20):
Go ahead Probe.
I'll let you take that questionfirst, Okay.
Prabhjot Nijjar (20:24):
So, in terms of what drives us to find the real
estate that we need, I wouldhave to say location really
matters.
Brian Sheehan (20:31):
Well, the markets , I guess I would say.
First with the markets.
How are you guys picking themarkets that you're expanding
into?
What's driving that expansion?
Prabhjot Nijjar (20:39):
Yeah, so for us , we want to make sure that
we're not in an area that'ssecluded, just anywhere.
We want to be in in the middleof everything that's happening,
like downtown areas, placeswhere we know are popular cities
that have a lot of residents,have like a lot of businesses
surrounding it.
That's basically a primarylocation for us.
(20:59):
We want to be able to be in themiddle of, like, what's
happening.
So that's really important forus to like enter into any market
, because if we're having peopletry out something new, we want
to be able to like be somewherewhere, like, everyone has that
equal opportunity and we havethat crowd that is, you know,
part of wanting to experiencethe next new thing.
So, yeah, I think that's prettymuch a big, big market for us,
(21:24):
or like the market that weintend to enter.
Brian Sheehan (21:26):
Are you thinking it's primarily, you know, near
term expansion is going tohappen in those urban areas?
Are you looking in suburbanmarkets, at grocery anchored
shopping centers, power centers,malls, those kinds of locations
?
Prabhjot Nijjar (21:41):
Yeah, I think Tracy is based in that, in that
type of location.
So is Turlock and our Brentwood, but Amrit can definitely talk
more on locations that he'smanaging.
Amrit Nijjar (21:50):
Yeah, I mean definitely With Tracy being
accessible to the whole city.
I mean you come in from theeast, west, south or the north.
You can go ahead and reach thatlocation in about the same
amount of time from anydirection.
So that's definitely one thingthat we look for is
accessibility.
So let's say, there's newertraditions to make these plazas
(22:12):
next to the freeways.
Even over here in the CentralValley on 99, they have built
plazas along that side.
So now those newer plazas andbuildings, they are good,
they're nice and whatnot, butthey don't entirely work out for
us because those customers thatare going to be on the freeway,
they're going to be thatone-time customer and we want
(22:33):
customers that are retainingcustomers.
So we want to go ahead and havethem keep coming back.
And you know, let's say, we wantto be somewhere where we're
also tapping into theresidential area as well.
You know, tapping into theschools and being involved with
the local community.
Something what I have done islocal sporting teams.
You know there's volleyball,cricket, what goes on out here,
(22:55):
or there's high school Olympianteams and whatnot.
So I would love to you know, attime to time I sponsor those to
go ahead and get involved.
So I want to be in a distanceto where, whoever those
residential people are, you knowgoing to places are able to
come to me and same thing isaccessible for them to go ahead
and come to me.
(23:16):
I don't want them to be like,hey, that shop is on the other
side of town.
We don't ever want thatquestion.
It's I want to go to TandooriPizza, it's right there, I can
go ahead and go there.
Brian Sheehan (23:29):
Gotcha.
That makes sense.
Your average unit volume.
That's AUV, something we talk alot about in our industry.
What's the typical Tandooripizza doing sales-wise?
Amrit Nijjar (23:42):
They have definitely been higher in the
numbers in the last couple ofyears.
It's definitely the brandrecognition that we have been
receiving for the last couple ofyears.
As we told you earlier, westarted off in 2015.
So, you know, not having a nameout there, not having that
brand recognition and not reallybuilding that type of level for
yourself, really doesn't getyou all that much in sales.
(24:04):
But now, almost 10 years, nineyears under the belt, you know
it has definitely driven up andI would average it around 140 to
150 a month.
Brian Sheehan (24:14):
Okay, so you're 1.7, maybe just under 2 million
a year.
Correct, average for alllocations.
Correct, 1.5 to 1.7.
Is there anything unique toyour build out?
So a lot of second generationspaces have, you know, hoods,
maybe a walk-in cooler freezer,correct?
(24:34):
We?
Amrit Nijjar (24:34):
do prefer that.
There is preferably a cooleralready installed.
So that does, you know, bringdown the workload for us.
And a hood.
It's not usually there andsometimes what happens is it's
the smaller hoods and we needthe bigger hoods.
For example, and Tracy, Ibelieve it's 12 feet for the
hood, so there's size-wise itdoes vary.
(24:56):
So usually the hood and thecooler and the drainage system
and an ADA-compliant bathroomand then everything else we can
bring in.
Brian Sheehan (25:04):
How about, from a power or water perspective,
anything?
Are you guys generally havingto upsize the panel?
Amrit Nijjar (25:11):
I've only had issues with older buildings in
the past where you know, Ibelieve I'm not sure what kind
of piping they used way back inthe day in the 80s or something
like that, but it rots out andit doesn't remain a pipe anymore
.
So I've had experience withthat to where I had to
completely take out the completeplumbing out of the whole store
(25:32):
and renew the plumbing, and thelandlord did not help in
anything and it was all out ofmy pocket.
So it does get a little heftyif it is an older building.
But you know, with newerbuildings and stuff like that
there's usually not those typeof issues with electrical or
plumbing.
You know.
Other than that, you know ifit's like a restaurant and
grease, grease is your worstfriend, uh I should have asked
(25:56):
earlier do you need adrive-through?
no, no, maybe, maybe, maybe, ifprobe comes up with an idea
we'll get there eventually,what's the mix of carry out
versus dine in?
Brian Sheehan (26:12):
Maybe on a percentage you got half and half
, or carrying out dining or mostpeople dining in.
Amrit Nijjar (26:18):
I mean, like I was telling you earlier, before
Corona there was a lot more dinein than there is now.
But in the last couple weeksand months I would say a month
and month or two January and thelast couple weeks of February
as well Dinein has definitelybeen picking up for us and,
tracy, we are renovating.
You know it's been five years,so we're renovating the inside
to give it a new look.
(26:38):
So we are a little low on thechairs, but we did buy about 15
extra chairs and at times thoseare still less.
So you know the dine-ins aredefinitely filling back up.
So I'm definitely excited aboutthat.
But after Corona DoorDash, uber, eats, grubhub apps like those
they had a huge boom.
(26:58):
So you know there's a lot ofdeliveries and pickups that are
coming through those and they'regenerating us a lot of sales as
well.
Brian Sheehan (27:05):
Yeah, I'm not sure why I'm speculating this
way, this way, but I'm thinkingthe sort of category of
restaurant that you operate inmaybe lends itself to a higher
percentage of dine-in customersthan your typical, you know,
pizza place.
Yeah, definitely.
Amrit Nijjar (27:24):
I mean it's an opportunity.
You know we, even even ourcustomers know, and we tell our
customers as well, that ittastes best right fresh out of
the oven.
You know when it's out and wecut it up, bring it to your
table.
It is going to taste the bestwhen it sits in a box.
You know with that heat and thesteam, you know making the box
(27:44):
soft and the pizza quality goesdown sitting in the warmer and
you take 15 minutes, 20 minutes,to come pick it up, it's going
to slowly decrease the quality.
So you know, even to ourcustomers who are like hey, you
know, give us a call, Let meknow you're going to be here 15
minutes.
I'll have it ready the momentyou sit down.
It'll be there in two minutesand you'll have a hot and ready
(28:05):
pizza.
You know that's what I try to dowith all my customers is hey, I
want to give you the bestquality.
I don't want you to wait.
If you're going to take 30minutes, I'll go ahead and make
it in 15.
You know I'll wait 15 minutes,but I want to give you the best
quality man?
Brian Sheehan (28:19):
do you need a liquor license?
Do you serve alcohol correct?
Amrit Nijjar (28:23):
we do, uh, beer and wine.
We do have san ramon.
I believe san ramon is um.
They are supposed to be doing afull liquor bar, but I believe
that is still in the works.
They only have their beer andwine license at the moment.
Brian Sheehan (28:37):
Well, last question what do you need to see
from your landlord partners forTandoori Pizza to be successful
?
Amrit Nijjar (28:46):
I would definitely just say, just to
work with us.
I'll just tell you so.
A couple of weeks ago I had theTracy landlord.
He came over and I met him forthe first time in five years.
I've never met the guy, I'venever seen him in my life.
I've only talked to him on thephone and email.
That's about it.
And you know, he pointed out afew things and he was like, hey,
(29:07):
well, the back window is brokenand I'm going to have to put it
on you.
And I'm just looking at thewindow like, hey, I didn't even
break it.
Or you know, I don't even knowwhat happened.
But you know what I respondedto him was hey, I want to be
here for a long term.
I don't want to be here for ayear, two years, I want to be
here for the next 20 years, 30years if possible, right?
(29:31):
So I know if you can do longterm business with me and I can
do long term business with you,we can both be very happy and we
just got to take care of eachother.
So that's what I ask from thelandlord.
Prabhjot Nijjar (29:44):
I agree with that.
Brian Sheehan (29:45):
Well, I'm rent probbed.
It was great speaking with youtoday.
I really appreciate you takingthe time.
Thank you for joining me onRetail Intel.
Thank you guys, thank you.
Be on the lookout for newTandoori Pizza locations opening
near you and check out theirwebsite, tandooripizzacom.
Give them a follow at TandooriPizza California.
(30:08):
Whether you're an aspiring realestate mogul, a seasoned pro or
simply curious about the placeswhere we shop, dine, play and
work, this podcast is yourall-access pass to the world of
commercial real estate.
As always, connect with me onLinkedIn and if you're
interested in being a part ofthe Retail Intel Podcast, send a
message to nationalaccounts atphillipsedisoncom.
(30:31):
If you want to hear more aboutnew and expanding brands like
Tandoori Pizza, keep tuning into Retail Intel and please
subscribe, follow, like andrepost.
Talk to you next time.
Welcome to Retail Intel, the podcast where we
dive deep into the dynamic worldof commercial real estate.
I'm your host, brian Sheehan,and I'm thrilled to be your
guide on this journey throughthe bustling streets of retail,
the aisles of shopping centersand the world of property
investment.
With me today I have Amrit andPrabhjit.
Amrit owns a few locations andPrabhjit is the marketing
(00:27):
executive for Tandoori Pizza,and their slogan a little heat,
a lot of heart truly describestheir mission when it comes to
pizza.
They've been taking their pride, love and inspiration of the
fusion of Indian cuisine andpizza for the last several years
through expansion of thisexciting concept.
How are you Good?
(00:48):
Good Thanks for having us,brian.
Prabhjot Nijjar (00:50):
Appreciate being here.
Thank you.
Brian Sheehan (00:52):
Yeah, thanks for joining me.
Yeah, so I'd love to start withyour background.
What got you interested inpizza?
What were you both doing priorto launching or being involved
in the launch of Tandoori Pizza?
Amrit Nijjar (01:05):
So probably I'll let you go ahead, ladies first.
Prabhjot Nijjar (01:09):
I appreciate it .
Thank you.
Actually, I'm just going to goahead and start off with TJ's
Journey, who is actually themain owner for Tandoori Pizza,
and before he actually was apart of the business, he went to
UC Davis.
He was an Aggie and he studiedin business there.
It's one of those things like Irelated to him because I
(01:31):
graduated from UC Davis as well,so it was really cool seeing
somebody with that samebackground.
And, yeah, so he wanted to dosomething different.
He didn't want to follow thetraditional path of, you know,
just going to school, finding ajob in the corporate world and
going through that cookie cutterpath, but he wanted to do
something that was unique and,being in a primarily area of
like a lot of Indians andworking with a lot of family, he
(01:52):
wanted to go ahead and startsomething that allowed him to go
out and bring his passion ofcooking to the world.
So that's what brought us hereto Tenderi Pizza.
Amrit Nijjar (02:02):
Yeah, definitely, I mean Tenderi Pizza.
We first opened our doors in2015 in our Dublin California
location, which was owned andoperated by Dajinder Singh
himself, and this started out.
You know, like Prabh mentioned,this was just for family events
and it was just something thatmy cousin was bringing over and
(02:22):
it just intrigued us and, youknow, having those bland pizzas
and just the traditional redsauce and the creamy garlic
sauce, it gets boring after awhile.
So it was really connectingback to our roots, also with the
spices and giving it thatflavor, really having us, you
know, look forward to thosefamily parties and whatnot,
being excited that hey, brother,tj is going to bring some pizza
(02:45):
today and whatnot.
So it was something that wasn'taround back then in 2015.
It wasn't something that wascommon as well.
So it was definitely somethingthat was a great opportunity for
us to go ahead and grow on aswell, so incredible Been to so
many family gatherings, events,neighborhood parties.
Brian Sheehan (03:02):
I've never had anyone bring anything like this
to the gathering.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:06):
Yeah, it's definitely unique.
Brian Sheehan (03:08):
Well, let's talk about what makes it unique.
So some of the favorite flavors, I guess that you have.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:14):
Where do you want to go?
Amrit Nijjar (03:15):
So my personal favorite would definitely have
to be the tandoori chicken.
It's our house special pizza,you know, with the creamy garlic
sauce base.
So we stick with that creamygarlic traditional creamy garlic
on that base, with mozzarellacheese, with bell peppers,
onions, tomatoes, that we diceup with grilled chicken high
quality grilled chicken thatwe're using and that we're
marinating with the tandoorispices and masalas to give it a
(03:37):
little more flavor.
Well, I wouldn't say a littlemore, a lot more flavor and just
giving it something differentthan a lot of taste buds are
used to as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (03:46):
Yeah, and for me it definitely has to be the
chili paneer, because I'm avegetarian, so it's one of the
house favorites as well.
Whoever comes by and I makethat recommendation they
definitely enjoy it.
So that's great, and youdefinitely can't go wrong
pairing it with some desi sticks.
Brian Sheehan (04:01):
It sounds amazing and I appreciate you both
sharing that.
Stacey Sticks it sounds amazingand I appreciate you both
sharing that.
What is it about Indian cuisinethat makes pizza a good
category for experiencing theseflavors?
Amrit Nijjar (04:12):
I would say everything I mean.
Let's just start off withAmerica itself.
America was founded byChristopher Columbus, who came
in search of India to do a spicetrade.
So it's sometimes I joke aroundwith my buddies and I'm like,
hey, I have the spice thatChristopher Columbus came
looking for.
So it's like, hey, we'rebringing that spice and we're
(04:35):
combining it onto pizza.
A lot of people around theworld are used to pizza, but
they're not used to pizza onthat type of level and spice and
combinations as well used topizza on that type of level and
spice and combinations as well.
So yeah, I feel like pizza is auniversal food and giving it
that flavor and that mix withdifferent types of cuisines or
ethnicities and whatnot, itreally gives it a lot more
flavor and a diverseness as well.
Brian Sheehan (04:57):
It's something you know often.
Think about that journey tofind flavors and think about
your experience in hospitalityand the restaurant business, how
people are journeying to findyou in this exciting new fusion
cuisine.
What is it about thehospitality and restaurant
(05:18):
business that has you guysexcited?
Amrit Nijjar (05:21):
I would definitely say it's every day.
Every day is a new day and it'sgreat to meet new people on a
daily basis.
You know some coming in to pickup a pizza for their birthday
parties.
Just recently, you know,valentine's went by, so some
people coming in to grab a heartshaped pizza for their loved
one, you know, and we get towork with amazing vendors as
(05:41):
well, so it's a greatopportunity for us to go ahead
and really be in the real worldand reality and interact with
people.
I mean, of course, it's not funfor anybody to just sit around
at home and have that, so it's agreat opportunity for us to
have something new and differentevery single day.
And I'll let Prabh go ahead andlet us finish off with her part
(06:03):
, because she does marketing, soshe is managing most of the
customer service issues oranything like that, so she can
go ahead and tell you a lot moreabout it as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (06:13):
Appreciate it.
Thank you, Amrit.
Yeah, for me it would have tobe the same thing as well.
I've been working from home forthe past three, four years and
it's it gets really exhaustingto just be sitting in one place
and not really interacting withpeople just behind like a screen
.
So it's been very cool to beable to meet new people and meet
new vendors and, being themarketing exec and TJ bringing
(06:35):
me along to go ahead and helpwith the brand and its awareness
and getting new people on board, it's been absolutely great
just being able to interact withpeople again and then building
those connections.
So I've had a great time beingable to connect with different
individuals in the East Coast,even here in California, and
just meeting the team andworking with the team.
So it's a great pleasure.
Brian Sheehan (06:56):
Did I hear correctly that you guys are
partnering or working with theSacramento Kings?
Prabhjot Nijjar (07:02):
Yeah, we're definitely very excited about
that opportunity with theSacramento Kings.
Yeah, we're definitely veryexcited about that opportunity.
We just went ahead and, I guess, built out a collab for one of
the events that are coming up,and they're doing a pop up for a
holy event that's happening inMarch.
So we're very excited to go outand partner with them and
introduce our flavors to theSacramento area before we end up
branching out and having abrick and mortar location out
there as well.
(07:22):
So we're very excited.
Brian Sheehan (07:31):
That's great Congratulations.
So what?
Amrit Nijjar (07:32):
experience did you have with commercial real
estate prior to Tandoori Pizza?
So me personally, you know I'vebeen with Tandoori Pizza ever
since I was 15 years old, soI've really had no other type of
experience other than that, youknow, just being around my
cousin and being around thatenvironment, being around the
business and just learning handson every day to day.
And then now I have a couple oflocations under my belt with
(07:53):
the real estate side of it, themarket side of it, as well as
learning, you know, the foodside of it as well.
So definitely there's a mixtureof those.
Brian Sheehan (08:02):
I wanted to jump back a second where we were
talking about the differentflavors and, for someone that
hasn't been there, had thechance to experience Tandoori
pizza.
Yet you talk a little moreabout some of the flavors and
spices that you use.
What am I going to notice youknow flavor wise when I have
(08:23):
that first experience.
Amrit Nijjar (08:24):
Definitely the first bite.
A lot of people they'rehesitant to take that first bite
because they think that it'sgoing to be that sharp type of
spice, let's say like a habaneroor a serrano pepper or a
jalapeno or something like that.
But it's really not that.
It's a lot more just havingflavor from the different types
of spices that we ground up andmix together to make the
(08:46):
marination for the item thatwe're making.
It's just the flavor from thosekind of things.
It's truly unexplainable.
But it's definitely not spicy,but flavorful would be the right
word.
Prabhjot Nijjar (08:58):
Yeah.
Brian Sheehan (08:59):
Probs or anything you wanted to add there.
Prabhjot Nijjar (09:01):
Yeah, I mean adding on to that.
I just think that it's prettygreat just being able to like
bring that, bring in indianspices, that combination that
amrit had touched on earlier.
I mean the masala pesto beingone of them.
It's just very common indianbasic spices that we use and you
mix that in with the pesto andadd just like a bit of a kick
which brings in one of thoseunique flavors onto the pizzas.
(09:22):
Um, another one would be themalai sauce, which isn't very
spicy or doesn't pack like a lotof a punch, but you can just
have those very granular, justdifferent tastes that you don't
really notice on day to day, butit's there.
So it's very cool just beingable to like incorporate those
in the most easiest one and themost prevalent one, it has to be
(09:45):
the Desi sticks, which iscombination of ginger, garlic,
chilies, pineapple, and you seeall those ingredients on there
and you can just know what packsthat kick.
So it's pretty awesome justbeing able to like tie those
flavors in together.
Brian Sheehan (10:00):
It sounds amazing Ginger garlic, chilies and
pineapple.
Prabhjot Nijjar (10:05):
It definitely is a good one.
Brian Sheehan (10:07):
And what makes it a desi stick.
Prabhjot Nijjar (10:09):
Yeah, just those ingredients itself that
bring it in.
I mean, you normally don'tthink of ginger on pizza, you
don't think of just putting onlike straight chilies and you
put on jalapenos but chilies onpizza.
So those are very Indianingredients that we use in our
day-to-day cooking and so addingthem onto the breadsticks make
them, you know, into our desisticks.
So I mean, in the flavorsitself, it's just a
(10:32):
juxtaposition of spices.
So, as Amrit had mentionedearlier, for the tandoori
chicken, you have Indian spicedchicken on a creamy garlic sauce
.
So you have like the best ofboth worlds, which kind of
unites, you know, anyone andeveryone on those flavors.
Amrit Nijjar (10:48):
Yeah, and then definitely a lot of times when
we do have new customers andthey want a non vegetarian type
of pizza, I do recommend thetandoori chicken to them right
off the bat, because tandoorichicken is one of our least, or
I would say, a mid type of spicepizza, because it just has
spice in the chicken itself, notin the sauce.
We do have other sauces asidefrom the creamy garlic or the
(11:09):
traditional red.
We do have our curry sauce, ourmalai sauce, our makhani sauce.
So we do have like a mild,light and a spicy type of sauce.
So the tandoori chicken, thecreamy garlic sauce, really
gives it that toned down spicebut that flavor as well, and
then if somebody would like,they can keep the chicken piece
(11:30):
on there or pick it off if it'stoo spicy for them.
So it is accommodating to thecustomer as well.
Prabhjot Nijjar (11:36):
But we haven't heard any complaints so far.
Brian Sheehan (11:39):
It just all sounds so amazing.
I wanted to shift gears herefor a minute and talk about your
real estate needs.
A lot of our listeners aregoing to be brokers, landlords,
property owners and ask you moreabout what you need from a
space and a shopping center.
So I guess first would be let'stalk about the square footage,
(12:00):
size range, footprint of typicalTantori pizza.
Amrit Nijjar (12:05):
So our minimum requirement is definitely 2000
square footage for the location,and we do hope to find that it
is an option where it is aclosed down restaurant or
something where we wouldn't haveto do a complete cut out of the
location.
Let's say, for example, it islike a 30 year or 40 year old
restaurant.
So that doesn't help us eitherin any way, because you know we
(12:27):
have to change plumbing or wehave to change electrical or you
know there's a lot more thingsthat play into it.
So definitely a 2000 squarefoot would be the minimum, and
then any new location works forus as well, Any building out
plazas and as well as any closeddown restaurants as well.
Brian Sheehan (12:46):
Second gen restaurants can be a good fit.
Correct what's the maximumsquare footage that you've done
so far?
Amrit Nijjar (12:54):
We have done around 45, I believe for 4,000
in San Ramon and Fremont.
Those are pretty big locations.
I know Turlock is 3,600 squarefeet.
It's just after Corona.
The bigger dine-in has justdecreased a bit.
But I've noticed in the lastcouple weeks and months I would
say that dine-in has beenpicking back up to what it used
(13:17):
to be before Corona.
So I definitely hope for, and Ido have locations with quite a
bit capacity for the dine-in andI do hope for them to flourish
again.
Okay, so anywhere up to 45would be good, 2,000 to 45.
Brian Sheehan (13:33):
And how many current number of open locations
are there?
I believe 11.
And mostly in California.
Amrit Nijjar (13:40):
Yes, we have, I believe, nine in California and
two in the East Coast.
One just opened up in Queens,new York, and one in Philly.
Brian Sheehan (13:48):
That's exciting.
Is it all corporate?
Is it franchise?
Is it a mix?
Prabhjot Nijjar (13:52):
No, none of them are franchises.
So we're currently working onthat and hopefully it all passes
down smoothly.
But yeah, most of these are allpartnerships and we just work
with different vendors and seehow things go, and we're
actually opening up new locationin Fresno as well, so we're
very excited for that too.
Brian Sheehan (14:11):
How many do you anticipate opening this year?
Prabhjot Nijjar (14:15):
New locations so we have the two that opened
up earlier and then the one thatwe're opening up in Clovis.
We have plans to open up a fewin Sacramento and in Texas as
well.
So hopefully by the end of theyear maybe about five to six new
locations.
So we're anticipating.
You know, we're hoping to goahead and get that going and
(14:35):
then we'll see how it goes fromthere.
Brian Sheehan (14:38):
That's exciting, and how many do you think for
next year, 2025?
Prabhjot Nijjar (14:42):
Same goal.
We want to be able to keep onthat trajectory of opening at
least five to ten new locations,and then we're also planning on
franchising in other states aswell.
So we'll see how it goes.
Right now we're inconversations with a lot of
different folks that have showedinterest in starting up
locations, especially in newyork and in texas, and a lot of
(15:03):
other like central states thathave been developing quite a bit
.
So being a part of that marketwould be a great opportunity for
us and also to like introduceourselves to like many different
people out there.
Brian Sheehan (15:14):
So it sounds like slow and steady growth, correct
?
Slow and steady wins the race,and previously the focus was
primarily in California, but nowyou're starting to look more
nationally.
Yeah, Correct.
Amrit Nijjar (15:28):
I mean, it's a flavor we can't, you know, hold
on to for too long.
We need to get it out there andthen share it with the world.
I mean, that's the only thingthat we're trying to do,
absolutely.
Prabhjot Nijjar (15:37):
So I'm going to dominate the world.
Right now, we're just going todominate the nation.
Brian Sheehan (15:41):
demographics in the communities, where you're
already open, having success,where you're looking in the
future.
Amrit Nijjar (15:55):
Are there certain demographic characteristics,
socioeconomic profile that youneed, you think, in order for
you know tandoori pizza to dowell, I definitely think being
an Indian pizza, a lot of peoplewould assume that we need to
open up in an area where thereis a majority demographic of
Indian people, but that'susually not the case at all.
I mean, what I usually tell mypartners and everybody around me
(16:19):
, my associates is that we livein America.
Right, we're living in a verydiverse country where there's
people from all differentbackgrounds, all different, you
know, nations, ethnicities.
So it's very wrong for us, as abrand, to target one certain
individual or type ofindividuals to go ahead and sell
our product to, and that'sdefinitely not the case.
(16:41):
We're open to anybody andeverybody, all diversities.
I mean we have our Tracylocation, for example, where we
do get a majority of Indians butwe do get a handful.
I would say where we do get 50%Indian, we do have 25 to 30%
diverse crowd of otherethnicities and whatnot.
And then I would say the restwould be like Punjabis and
(17:04):
whatnot.
So there is a huge majority butwhere, as the Turlock, there
isn't a big population of Indianmajority.
So over there there's a mixeddemographics of, you know,
hispanic backgrounds orCaucasian backgrounds and
whatnot.
So they are also appreciated asour customers and loved, and we
(17:24):
love them and you know they'rebringing their business over to
us enjoying our food, and that'swhat we want.
We want to go ahead and shareour food with everyone and not
just one individual type ofpeople or a group of people.
So anywhere, you know, would beideal for us.
Brian Sheehan (17:41):
Sure, what are some of the uses that you like
to see around you?
I guess I'm thinking are youlooking for specialty fitness or
med tail concepts?
Do you like grocery anchoredshopping centers?
What do you guys want to see inthe real estate that you're
evaluating?
Amrit Nijjar (17:58):
I mean a fitness definitely wouldn't work around
pizza, but a grocery outlet isdefinitely something that we
always look for, grocery beingsomewhere that brings a lot of
residential customers as well,and people spend up to 25, 30
minutes in a grocery outlet andthat's how much it can take to
go ahead and get an order readyfor them 20 to 25 minutes.
(18:19):
They can give us a call, goahead and do their shopping,
come out, pick up their pizza,go home and do their dinner
stuff or whatever it may be.
So that's usually the best forus as grocery outlets.
Prabhjot Nijjar (18:30):
I also wanted to add on that quickly, Also
going back to the demographicsand locations and based on where
we like to cater to.
Just a recent experience, weopened up locations in San Jose
over here, and then the one inPhiladelphia, and one thing that
I had noticed in terms of itwas it's a commercial property
with condos and apartments uptop.
So those have been reallyamazing as well, because it
(18:54):
allows residentials to come in.
I mean, one of the things I hadexperienced with these
locations people coming in, likewe've been so excited about,
like you know, you guys comingto the location and for you to
open up, like we were reallyexcited to try out the food.
So it's great being able to bea part of that community, being
a part of the residents lives.
And then other commercial unitsnearby, like people from
(19:15):
different clinics or, forexample, Philly location.
There are clinics nearby, a lotof veterinary clinics, a lot of
salons, a lot of other, likeyou know, small biz restaurants.
So it's very cool interactingwith them and seeing you know
how much they wanted the Andorrapizza to be a part of their
community and we're lookingforward to it.
So when we did our openings forboth of these particularly, we
noticed what the diverse crowdwas like.
(19:36):
It was just a mixture of people, it was a melting pot.
So it was very cool being ableto see everyone come together,
like whether they're families,whether they're friends, whether
they're just there with theirco-workers.
It was a very great experiencebeing able to, like, unite
everyone and bring them togetherthat's exciting, you know.
Brian Sheehan (19:54):
It sounds like you can do well in a variety of
settings and markets, mix ofuses around you everybody needs
to eat absolutely how are?
I would talk a little moreabout your real estate strategy
and those markets.
You you guys were Bay Areafocused.
Got some East Coast developmentgoing on Texas.
It sounds like what's drivingwhere you're looking for real
(20:19):
estate.
Amrit Nijjar (20:20):
Go ahead Probe.
I'll let you take that questionfirst, Okay.
Prabhjot Nijjar (20:24):
So, in terms of what drives us to find the real
estate that we need, I wouldhave to say location really
matters.
Brian Sheehan (20:31):
Well, the markets , I guess I would say.
First with the markets.
How are you guys picking themarkets that you're expanding
into?
What's driving that expansion?
Prabhjot Nijjar (20:39):
Yeah, so for us , we want to make sure that
we're not in an area that'ssecluded, just anywhere.
We want to be in in the middleof everything that's happening,
like downtown areas, placeswhere we know are popular cities
that have a lot of residents,have like a lot of businesses
surrounding it.
That's basically a primarylocation for us.
(20:59):
We want to be able to be in themiddle of, like, what's
happening.
So that's really important forus to like enter into any market
, because if we're having peopletry out something new, we want
to be able to like be somewherewhere, like, everyone has that
equal opportunity and we havethat crowd that is, you know,
part of wanting to experiencethe next new thing.
So, yeah, I think that's prettymuch a big, big market for us,
(21:24):
or like the market that weintend to enter.
Brian Sheehan (21:26):
Are you thinking it's primarily, you know, near
term expansion is going tohappen in those urban areas?
Are you looking in suburbanmarkets, at grocery anchored
shopping centers, power centers,malls, those kinds of locations
?
Prabhjot Nijjar (21:41):
Yeah, I think Tracy is based in that, in that
type of location.
So is Turlock and our Brentwood, but Amrit can definitely talk
more on locations that he'smanaging.
Amrit Nijjar (21:50):
Yeah, I mean definitely With Tracy being
accessible to the whole city.
I mean you come in from theeast, west, south or the north.
You can go ahead and reach thatlocation in about the same
amount of time from anydirection.
So that's definitely one thingthat we look for is
accessibility.
So let's say, there's newertraditions to make these plazas
(22:12):
next to the freeways.
Even over here in the CentralValley on 99, they have built
plazas along that side.
So now those newer plazas andbuildings, they are good,
they're nice and whatnot, butthey don't entirely work out for
us because those customers thatare going to be on the freeway,
they're going to be thatone-time customer and we want
(22:33):
customers that are retainingcustomers.
So we want to go ahead and havethem keep coming back.
And you know, let's say, we wantto be somewhere where we're
also tapping into theresidential area as well.
You know, tapping into theschools and being involved with
the local community.
Something what I have done islocal sporting teams.
You know there's volleyball,cricket, what goes on out here,
(22:55):
or there's high school Olympianteams and whatnot.
So I would love to you know, attime to time I sponsor those to
go ahead and get involved.
So I want to be in a distanceto where, whoever those
residential people are, you knowgoing to places are able to
come to me and same thing isaccessible for them to go ahead
and come to me.
(23:16):
I don't want them to be like,hey, that shop is on the other
side of town.
We don't ever want thatquestion.
It's I want to go to TandooriPizza, it's right there, I can
go ahead and go there.
Brian Sheehan (23:29):
Gotcha.
That makes sense.
Your average unit volume.
That's AUV, something we talk alot about in our industry.
What's the typical Tandooripizza doing sales-wise?
Amrit Nijjar (23:42):
They have definitely been higher in the
numbers in the last couple ofyears.
It's definitely the brandrecognition that we have been
receiving for the last couple ofyears.
As we told you earlier, westarted off in 2015.
So, you know, not having a nameout there, not having that
brand recognition and not reallybuilding that type of level for
yourself, really doesn't getyou all that much in sales.
(24:04):
But now, almost 10 years, nineyears under the belt, you know
it has definitely driven up andI would average it around 140 to
150 a month.
Brian Sheehan (24:14):
Okay, so you're 1.7, maybe just under 2 million
a year.
Correct, average for alllocations.
Correct, 1.5 to 1.7.
Is there anything unique toyour build out?
So a lot of second generationspaces have, you know, hoods,
maybe a walk-in cooler freezer,correct?
(24:34):
We?
Amrit Nijjar (24:34):
do prefer that.
There is preferably a cooleralready installed.
So that does, you know, bringdown the workload for us.
And a hood.
It's not usually there andsometimes what happens is it's
the smaller hoods and we needthe bigger hoods.
For example, and Tracy, Ibelieve it's 12 feet for the
hood, so there's size-wise itdoes vary.
(24:56):
So usually the hood and thecooler and the drainage system
and an ADA-compliant bathroomand then everything else we can
bring in.
Brian Sheehan (25:04):
How about, from a power or water perspective,
anything?
Are you guys generally havingto upsize the panel?
Amrit Nijjar (25:11):
I've only had issues with older buildings in
the past where you know, Ibelieve I'm not sure what kind
of piping they used way back inthe day in the 80s or something
like that, but it rots out andit doesn't remain a pipe anymore
.
So I've had experience withthat to where I had to
completely take out the completeplumbing out of the whole store
(25:32):
and renew the plumbing, and thelandlord did not help in
anything and it was all out ofmy pocket.
So it does get a little heftyif it is an older building.
But you know, with newerbuildings and stuff like that
there's usually not those typeof issues with electrical or
plumbing.
You know.
Other than that, you know ifit's like a restaurant and
grease, grease is your worstfriend, uh I should have asked
(25:56):
earlier do you need adrive-through?
no, no, maybe, maybe, maybe, ifprobe comes up with an idea
we'll get there eventually,what's the mix of carry out
versus dine in?
Brian Sheehan (26:12):
Maybe on a percentage you got half and half
, or carrying out dining or mostpeople dining in.
Amrit Nijjar (26:18):
I mean, like I was telling you earlier, before
Corona there was a lot more dinein than there is now.
But in the last couple weeksand months I would say a month
and month or two January and thelast couple weeks of February
as well Dinein has definitelybeen picking up for us and,
tracy, we are renovating.
You know it's been five years,so we're renovating the inside
to give it a new look.
(26:38):
So we are a little low on thechairs, but we did buy about 15
extra chairs and at times thoseare still less.
So you know the dine-ins aredefinitely filling back up.
So I'm definitely excited aboutthat.
But after Corona DoorDash, uber, eats, grubhub apps like those
they had a huge boom.
(26:58):
So you know there's a lot ofdeliveries and pickups that are
coming through those and they'regenerating us a lot of sales as
well.
Brian Sheehan (27:05):
Yeah, I'm not sure why I'm speculating this
way, this way, but I'm thinkingthe sort of category of
restaurant that you operate inmaybe lends itself to a higher
percentage of dine-in customersthan your typical, you know,
pizza place.
Yeah, definitely.
Amrit Nijjar (27:24):
I mean it's an opportunity.
You know we, even even ourcustomers know, and we tell our
customers as well, that ittastes best right fresh out of
the oven.
You know when it's out and wecut it up, bring it to your
table.
It is going to taste the bestwhen it sits in a box.
You know with that heat and thesteam, you know making the box
(27:44):
soft and the pizza quality goesdown sitting in the warmer and
you take 15 minutes, 20 minutes,to come pick it up, it's going
to slowly decrease the quality.
So you know, even to ourcustomers who are like hey, you
know, give us a call, Let meknow you're going to be here 15
minutes.
I'll have it ready the momentyou sit down.
It'll be there in two minutesand you'll have a hot and ready
(28:05):
pizza.
You know that's what I try to dowith all my customers is hey, I
want to give you the bestquality.
I don't want you to wait.
If you're going to take 30minutes, I'll go ahead and make
it in 15.
You know I'll wait 15 minutes,but I want to give you the best
quality man?
Brian Sheehan (28:19):
do you need a liquor license?
Do you serve alcohol correct?
Amrit Nijjar (28:23):
we do, uh, beer and wine.
We do have san ramon.
I believe san ramon is um.
They are supposed to be doing afull liquor bar, but I believe
that is still in the works.
They only have their beer andwine license at the moment.
Brian Sheehan (28:37):
Well, last question what do you need to see
from your landlord partners forTandoori Pizza to be successful
?
Amrit Nijjar (28:46):
I would definitely just say, just to
work with us.
I'll just tell you so.
A couple of weeks ago I had theTracy landlord.
He came over and I met him forthe first time in five years.
I've never met the guy, I'venever seen him in my life.
I've only talked to him on thephone and email.
That's about it.
And you know, he pointed out afew things and he was like, hey,
(29:07):
well, the back window is brokenand I'm going to have to put it
on you.
And I'm just looking at thewindow like, hey, I didn't even
break it.
Or you know, I don't even knowwhat happened.
But you know what I respondedto him was hey, I want to be
here for a long term.
I don't want to be here for ayear, two years, I want to be
here for the next 20 years, 30years if possible, right?
(29:31):
So I know if you can do longterm business with me and I can
do long term business with you,we can both be very happy and we
just got to take care of eachother.
So that's what I ask from thelandlord.
Prabhjot Nijjar (29:44):
I agree with that.
Brian Sheehan (29:45):
Well, I'm rent probbed.
It was great speaking with youtoday.
I really appreciate you takingthe time.
Thank you for joining me onRetail Intel.
Thank you guys, thank you.
Be on the lookout for newTandoori Pizza locations opening
near you and check out theirwebsite, tandooripizzacom.
Give them a follow at TandooriPizza California.
(30:08):
Whether you're an aspiring realestate mogul, a seasoned pro or
simply curious about the placeswhere we shop, dine, play and
work, this podcast is yourall-access pass to the world of
commercial real estate.
As always, connect with me onLinkedIn and if you're
interested in being a part ofthe Retail Intel Podcast, send a
message to nationalaccounts atphillipsedisoncom.
(30:31):
If you want to hear more aboutnew and expanding brands like
Tandoori Pizza, keep tuning into Retail Intel and please
subscribe, follow, like andrepost.
Talk to you next time.
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