Owner of Dadar landmark, Pritam Restaurant and Bar, had introduced authentic Punjabi and dhaba-style food
S Kulwant Singhji Kohli; a frame of Pritam Restaurant & Bar in its early days
Pritam’s unique cuisine was such a hit that many Bollywood actors including Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Manoj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar would step here for North Indian fare. There were many film studios in the neighbourhood. So, all of them would drop by for meals. The restaurateur went on open several other restaurants including Toran and later, Grandmama's Cafe, MRP, Grandpa's Den and House of Lloyd.
The Kohli connect
1942: Rawalpindi-born Prahlad Singh Kohli travels to Mumbai and opens Pritam restaurant in Dadar, a tiny eatery with seven tables. He gradually expands it, taking over the neighbourhood shops by 1966. His son, Kulwant Singh Kohli joins the business and renovates the restaurant into centrally air-conditioned space in 1975. The Kohlis also buy the building in which the restaurant is located.
1955: The father-son open Kohli’s, a 6,000 sq-ft restaurant with a billiards table, in Fort, which shuts soon.
1960: They launch Hotel Parkway in Shivaji Park.
1970: The Kohlis’ foray into film distribution by establishing Sangeeta Film Corporation in Opera House. They distributed 18 films including Pakeezah and Patni, Patni Aur Woh, before shutting operations in the 80s.
1985: The third generation of the Kohlis, Gurbarish Singh Kohli and Amardeep Singh Kohli open Pritam da Dhaba, as an extension of Pritam Restaurant
1988: The launch of the four-star Hotel Midtown Pritam, starting with room rates of Rs 300 per night.
2015: The fourth-generation Abhayraj Singh Kohli launches Grandmama’s Café in Dadar and expands to Lower Parel.
2016: He launched MRP (My Regular Place), a drink-and-play pub offering modern Asian fare in the Midtown Pritam premises.
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