JATC is now EATC, & you can’t hang out

Sanjay Narang, chairman of the Mars Group, who has revamped Bandra's favourite hangout Just Around the Corner into the oh-so-proper Eat Around the Corner, says you'll still get your cup of coffee but you can't lounge for free anymore

On January 3, a popular landmark in a bylane behind Bandra's Turner Road ufffd the big green signboard of Just Around the Corner ufffd was brought down.

On February 11, the popular American-style diner that opened 12 years ago and quickly turned into Bandra's favourite hang out serving Fresh Waffles for breakfast, and healthy salads for dinner, reopened in a new, glamourous avatar.u00a0u00a0

Now called Eat Around the Corner (it doesn't quite have the same ring, does it?), the new place aims to be a retreat from the "buzz", says Sanjay Narang, 48 year-old chairman of Mars Hospitality Services that owned JATC, Not Just Jazz By The Bay and Pizzeria till he sold the brand (not the premises) two years ago.

Narang wants EATC to wear many hats: 'cool expat hangout', 'upmarket dessert place', 'retreat for the crowd that wants to escape the crowds'.

What he doesn't want, for sure, is for people to just hang, like they did, back in the day.

In June this year, Pizzeria and Not Just.. that have been renamed Pizza By the Bay, will be up for revamp. Mars enterprises has sold off most of its brands including airline catering company Skygourmet, The Gordon House Hotel (that houses popular nightclub Polly Esther's and restaurant All Stir Fry), and pastry shop chain Birdy's.

"Personally, I was driven to get out of all the high volume and bulk businesses like diner services and cake shops and run unique, one-of-a-kind boutique properties," says Narang.

Narang puts the change in strategy down to evolution. "If you are going to do something which is easily replicable, you've got a lot of constraints. For example, the central kitchen puts a huge strain on what you can sell ufffd it has to be fresh, and transferable. Just Around the Corner was hugely profitable, but it was a different ballgame altogether."

Though patrons will pay 25 per cent to 30 per cent higher rates than they did at JATC (the eatery has a minimum order of Rs 250), EATC, says Narang, isn't about chasing profits ufffd it is about chasing innovation.

Chetan Washikar, executive chef of Mars group who has overseen the menu of EATC, feels the mainstay of the new restaurant will be its dessert counter. "We've got an in-house bakery. We'll start bulk delivery services within a week," he says, as he displays a delicious looking Korvapuusti (a Finnish cinnamon bun with a hard crust) straight from the oven.

The new menu includes an array of 16 desserts, from the Mars Cheesecake to the Danish Raisin Twist, a whole new bread counter with 12 types of bread, three special types of breakfast ufffd French, English and American ufffd and freshly made pizzas that will be sold by the slice.