Prem Ganapathy The Dosawala

Prem Ganapathy, was stranded at the bandra station,when the person

accompanying him left him and ran away. Prem had no local acquaintances or
knowledge of the language. Out of pity, a fellow Tamilian guided him to a
temple and appealed worshipers to contribute money for his return ticket to
Chennai.
Prem refused to go back and decided to work in Mumbai and started cleaning
utensils in a restaurant. He appealed to his owner, to let him become a waiter
as he was class 10 pass. The owner refused, because of regional politics and
Prem bided his time till a neighbor hood dosa restaurant opened and offered
him a job from a dishwasher to a tea boy.
Prem became a huge hit with the customers because of his excellent
customer service, initiatives and relationship and brought business Rs. 1000
daily which was almost 3 times as compared to other tea boys. The life was
good.
A customer made him an offer. He was planning to open a tea shop in Vashi in
Mumbai. He wanted Prem to be his 50 50 partner where the owner would
invest the money while Prem would run the shop. The shop started doing brisk
business when the owner became greedy. It hurt him to share 50 % of the
profit with Prem and he threw Prem out replacing him with an employee.
Prem was made of a different material and he was never going to be
defeated. He took a small loan from his uncle and with his brother, opened his
own tea stall. Unfortunately the neighbourhood residents objected. He then
started a hand cart but that also did not work out. He found a spot and set up
a south Indian stall. He did not know a thing about dosas and idli but learnt by
observation, trial and error. The dosa stall was a huge hit and flourished
during the 5 years from 1992-1997. But why was the tiny dosa stall was was
so successful in spite of competition from ubiquitous eateries prevalent in
Mumbai. According to Prem it was its hygiene, proper appearances of the
waiters and fresh ingredients which stood out as a difference.
He saved a couple of lakhs of Rupees and instead of heading home he took
the biggest risk of his life and opened a new shop near Vashi station and
named it as Dosa Plaza. His Chinese plaza next to the Dosa Plaza flopped
miserably and was shut down in 3 months. Undaunted, Prem realized some
lessons from it. He applied those lessons in making Chinese cuisine in his
dosas which worked very well.
Our Vision

To become the leading brand serving traditional south Indian cuisine

worldwide with an oriental and western taste, delivering quality food, efficient
service and value for money.
Our Mission
To delight every guest visiting our restaurant by serving traditional homely
food with a fresh creative approach in a clean, fun and friendly environment.

1990
Mr. Prem Ganapathy, a passionate cook and aspiring entrepreneur from Tamil
Nadu, arrived at Mumbai took up a cooks job in a small restaurant.
1992
Mr. Ganpathy started an outlet serving south-Indian cuisine alongside a street
in Navi Mumbai.
1992-1997
Mr. Ganapathy was joined by his brothers during this period. Mr. Ganapathy
used to sell 10 15 variety of dosas in his menu.
1998
Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza started off as one mans dream. Mr. Ganpathy, the man
behind the creation of Indias only most popular venture for south-Indian
cuisine, launched a well-polished open restaurant.
1999
Along with his Dosa outlet he tried his luck by investing in a Chinese
Restaurant in which he incurred a loss. But he tried Chinese cuisine in his
dosas which worked very well he got passionate and invented variety of
dosas with Chinese style like American Chopsuey, Schezwan Dosa, Paneer
chilly, Spring roll dosa etc.
By the year end, Dosa Plaza had fashioned 20-25 original varieties of dosas.
2000
He made his Dosas popular by serving them complimentary to his customers
which was eagerly accepted by his customers. The tremendous response he
received from his customers inspired him to fashion many more original oneof-its-kind recipes. Dosa Plaza had already made its presence felt in the hearts
of the food-lovers.

By 2002, Dosa Plaza had 104 delicious varieties of dosas in its list.
2003
Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza opened his first branch as Dosa Plaza in Shopping Mall
with well furnished, well-polished Express model outlet with an International
look and served healthy and nutritious dosas. Dosa Plaza gained popularity
and was noticed by the media as an emerging trend amongst food-lovers.
Dosa Plaza opened franchising offer rights started pouring in. During this year
Mr. Ganapathy signed and opened his 1st franchise outlet at Thane, Wonder
Mall.
2005
Dosa Plaza opened outlets in 7 different locations of India like Inorbit MallMalad, R-Mall- Mulund, Sahara Mall-Lucknow etc. across India.
2007
Dosa Plaza had established its outlets in 9 states of India and was spearing
into the international market. With 23 outlet all over india
2008
Dosa Plaza make its presence in largest mall of Asia. 2008 marks the entry of
the brand Dosa Plaza into International market by opening outlet in New
Zealand & 35 Outlets in India.
2009
Dosa Plaza plans to opens its 2nd outlet in New Zealand at Sky City Metro,
Auckland. Dosa Plaza now has its presence in 12 states of India.
2010
Dosa Plaza has opened its 3rd outlet in New Zealand at 14B Botany
junction,227 te Irirangi, Dr Manukau City.
2011
Dosa Plaza launches its 1st Outlet of Middle East in DUBAI.
2012
Dosa Plaza launches its 4th outlet in Middle East, having its presence in
Muscat, Dubai & Sharjah.

By 2012 Dosa Plaza operates 45 outlets in India and 7 International Outlets in

3 Countries (UAE, OMAN & NEW ZEALAND). The companys strategy is to grow
profitably by making each store self sustainable. The company will expand
through franchise model in addition to opening its own stores.
Dosa Plaza is a member of Franchise Association of India (FAI), the association,
FAI is the member association of the prestigious World franchise Council (WFC)
from India. Dosa Plaza follows the Franchise Code of Conduct laid down by the
Association.