Chatter House & Flow founder Swadeep Popli on struggles behind opening a restaurant: ‘The biggest pain in the neck is getting all licenses in time’

With over 12 years of adrenaline-charged journey in the Indian hospitality industry, Swadeep Popli is constantly striving to reinvent the dining landscape with his astute business acumen. He recently opened FLOW at DLF Avenue (Commons), Saket – It’s a large format all day diner and a microbrewery that gives an unrivalled dining experience. Swadeep Popli is the brains behind The Chatter House, a gastropub. To know more about what goes behind the kitchen doors of a fine-dine restaurant, food trends, his experience, and more, we got in touch with Swadeep Popli, Restaurateur & Founder, FLOW & The Chatter House. Here’s what he has to say:

Tell us something about your journey. How did you get interested in food?

After graduating with a B.E in Mechanical from MIT, Manipal, I began my professional journey as a design engineer in the R&D department of Escorts construction equipment ltd., but eventually quit my job because the entrepreneurship bug had bitten me! Being a foodie myself, I decided to venture into the hospitality sector with a bank loan to open a franchise of an Asian restaurant called ‘Chi Kitchen & Bar’, which unfortunately had to be shut down in 1.5 years. However, after studying the Indian food and beverage market thoroughly, I introduced The Chatter House, at Epicuria Nehru Place in 2013, followed by another at Khan Market in 2016. It has now been over 12 years of adrenaline-charged journey in the Indian hospitality industry. 

You were pursuing a BE in Mechanical. How did you decide to find a career in the food industry? Were your parents supportive? What was it like?

After graduating with a B.E in Mechanical from MIT, Manipal, I began my professional journey as a design engineer in the R&D department of Escorts construction equipment ltd., but eventually quit my job in 14 months because the entrepreneurship bug had bitten me! 

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I was always interested in food, and I am a big foodie right from my school days. It was always ‘live to eat’ rather than ‘eat to live’ for me. My parents being highly qualified professionals in their respective fields, always wanted me to do my MBA from the US and get into one of the MNC and lead a corporate life. But, I had different ideas and was pretty stubborn about it then. 

After a failed startup in 2011 called Zandria Farmaceutica, my parents helped me take a loan against an apartment property to start a franchise of Chi Kitchen & Bar along with a friend in 2012.  My worst fears became a reality, and as predicted by my dad, the restaurant never took off. After struggling for a year, it had to be shut down. 

How did Chatter House and Flow happen?

While Chi was struggling, it surprisingly had great reviews from people who visited and loved the place. When I analyzed what went wrong- I was confident –  that the only reason for failure was the wrong location. I also wanted the flexibility of having my own brand as operating a franchise is very mechanical and purely operations driven. During one of my trips to Europe, and seeing the very vibrant pub culture, especially in the UK, I observed a huge gap in the market back home in Delhi, and that’s when I conceptualized The Chatter House. One of our family friends who had visited Chi was ready to invest, and I took the plunge once again!

This time I was lucky and The Chatter House was Delhi’s first gastro-pub – people loved the concept and it was a huge success right from the very beginning. 

After 8 years in the business and having opened another outlet in Khan Market, I was looking to explore something different. Even before covid hit us I had plans to exit the industry, But my love for beer – and with a lot of luck and chance – Flow happened. Having always looked at the Gurgaon market with a flourishing brew-pub environment, and the very vibrant craft beer market in Bangalore and Pune, creating my own beer had always been a dream. This particular location at DLF Avenue with a huge terrace intrigued me, and was the perfect spot for a microbrewery – now that they were finally allowed to operate in Delhi.  I along with a couple of more investors, who happen to be my close friends as well, placed their faith in me for this journey together. 

What made you decide on the menu? What are the things you keep in mind while preparing your menu?

Flow is a 276 seater, 9000 sq.ft. all day diner – which turns into a high energy space by the evening. Having the right food menu is imperative.  The two key points that were important to us were that the menu can have a maximum of 100 items to ensure quality and consistency and second, that we can’t stick to one cuisine as the appeal needs to be wider. Flow is also a place where bigger groups party so the menu had to be global. 

I had to find my favorite chefs and consultants to make a menu which is very high quality and unique, yet it had to appeal to a larger audience considering the size of our space. After months of planning, finding the right team, training, and trialing and tasting each item in the menu – gaining 6 kilos in the process – we finally finalized the menu at flow after 10 months.  My founding partners are also foodies which was a huge plus point and we would look forward to reviewing our food everyday. 

Which one is your favorite restaurant in Delhi?

Can’t pinpoint one as it changes every year – but my favorite this year is Tablespoon by Varun Tuli. 

What is your go-to food type?

I would say everything since it keeps changing every year. 

One Indian restaurateur you look up to?

Aseem Grover of the iconic Big Chill Cafe. Kudos to him for being so understated, and achieving roaring success though sheer quality and consistency with no marketing. 

How do you deal with competition?

In this cluttered F&B space with new restaurants popping open every other day, having a strong differentiator – be it music, food, beverages- is critical.  Being consistent and relevant is also very important. 

What are the hardships that you deal with as a restaurateur?

I don’t know where to begin.  Out of the many hardships, the biggest pain in the neck is getting all licenses in time, so you don’t burn all your money on salaries and rent and go belly up even before you open.  Every location and concept comes with its own set of challenges – I won’t call them hardships – like losing a critical member of your team to the competition, being relevant, ensuring consistency in service, food and beverage quality takes a lot of hard work. 

Now that you are known to be pushing boundaries, is there pressure to surprise diners with something wilder?

Flow is an experiential microbrewery and a sensory experience.  The pressure is always there, and I love to work – or only work – under pressure.  What we have created is a one of its kind space – with the longest bar, biggest al fresco space, very unique lighting, an out of the box food menu, and the best craft beer and cocktails that could have been done – by the best people in the industry. 

How do you deal with creativity blocks? The food industry is evolving and each day there’s something new.

That’s easy. Go out to new places, or better, travel to places with a buzzing f&b scene. All your blocks will be flowing. 

What’s next? What are you treating us with now?

Right now, we can’t wait to serve you our craft beers – which will probably be the best in the country.