San Francisco-based Curry Up Now has signed a multi-unit deal to open at least five Curry Up Now restaurants as well as its sister brand, Mortar and Pestle craft cocktail bar, in North Carolina.
Family members Viral Patel, Amit Patel, Alpesh Patel and Pathik Patel of VAAP Management, who also operate Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins locations, said they saw value in operating a dual-brand to reach consumers during different day-parts.
“My family and I began our franchising journey in the 90s and have always wanted to break into Indian cuisine. When we discovered Curry Up Now, we jumped at the opportunity to package our love for traditional Indian food with an engaging brand and the convenience of a fast casual setting,” Pathik Patel, president of VAAP Management, said in a company press release. “With companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and more announcing expansions in the Triangle area, we recognize the growth and vibrancy of this community and can’t wait to bring something new to the table.”
Over the past 10 years, husband-and-wife co-founders Akash and Rana Kapoor have expanded the company to include three food trucks, 16 brick-and-mortar restaurants spanning coast to coast, and several digital kitchen outposts nationwide with more than 50 restaurants in varying stages of development.
“Curry Up Now caters to the lunch and dinner crowd, so the residential, retail and office park environment found within the greater Triangle area is going to be a perfect fit for our first of many locations in the state,” Akash Kapoor said in the release “We have great franchise partners in Pathik and his family and we have full confidence that they will successfully grow the Curry Up Now brand in North Carolina.”