As reported in the  Manchester Evening News on Feb 3rd, the ChennaiDosa chain will open their first Manchester restaurant in the Stretford Mall next month, a move which will create 25 jobs.

ChennaiDosa, which has 10 locations in the UK and specialises in South Indian cuisine, will open a 125-cover curry restaurant with two floors in the Mall.  They opened their first venue in Manor Park, East London, in 2003 and now have seven sites in the London area as well as others in Reading, Birmingham and Leicester with more to follow soon.

The Stretford Mall opening is being handled by general manager Suresh Baskar. Who is quoted as saying: “We looked at venues all over Manchester, including the city centre, but we felt the Stretford Mall had the right location for us because it has a good car park and gives us the opportunity to bring something new to Stretford. We like the idea of being in with a community rather than in the crowded environment of the city centre. I have had customers contacting me from the North of England who have visited our restaurants in London asking me when we are going to open closer to them, so moving to the North West was important for us.”

As we are sure residents of Stretford will admit, the area is not usually recognised as THE place to be in Manchester and the Mall itself has struggled in recent years so we applaud ChennaiDosa’s efforts to help regenerate the area and we will look on with interest to see if this new venture works for them. It does have potential given that no other major Indian restaurants are in the Mall.

And with excellent road and tram connections as well as easy parking they can offer good transport links. Where they might struggle with this location is that it really isn’t a “destination” for a night out for most people so they will have to work hard to build a loyal client base willing to move away from their city center or local favourites.

Another positive effect is that, given the current economic situation, each  job opportunity is a blessing for local people so 25 more people in the North West will have a job thanks to ChennaiDosa.

If you want to know more about them, go on their website ChennaiDosa