In 1967 Marruti Rakshe established his first food outlet in Lalbaug with the name of ‘Maharashtra Ladu Samrat’ in partnership with an owner of a shop opposite Bharatmata Cinema. ‘Ladu Samrat had a great demand those days in that area as Mill Workers carried hard Laddoos and Chiwda while returning home on certain happy occasions. Later, when the building crashed, Rakshe family brought their separate shop with the name of ‘Mumbai Ladu Samrat’ in the same area. Now, his elder son Kamlakar Rakshe runs this shop with his another brother, serving not only variety of Laddoos and Chiwda but also other variety of delicious Maharashtrian dishes.
Ladu Samrat stall at Growel’s Kandivali Food Court
Now, Jeetendra Rakshe the youngest son of Maruti Rakshe , has different plans. He wants to spread the arms of ‘Ladu Samrat’ in city malls to popularize Maharashtrian food. Three months ago he launched the first branch of ‘Ladu Samrat’ in the Food Court of Growel’s 101 Mall at Kandivali East, off. Western Express Highway. So confident he was about his business that he signed a five year rental contract with this mall and today we find him adding extra items like Puri Bhaji and Masala Bhaat to his regular menu comprising of mouth watering dishes like ‘Alu Wadi’,’Wada Paav’, ‘Misal Paav’, ‘Steamed Modak’ , Kothmir Wadi’, ‘Thalipeeth’, ’Onion Bhajia’ ,’Samosas’, ‘Puran Poli’, ;Saaaabudana Wada’ , ‘Gulab Jamun’, ‘Piyush’ and others .
Jitendra Rakshe
Speaking about his future plans Jitendra wants to spread his network to other major malls and also open branches outside India at places like London, USA and Dubai. “ Our own clients now residing abroad are interested in opening branches of ‘Ladu Samrat’, which they feel is an established brand. We have good number of celebrity clients, who regularly visit our Lalbaug outlet when they pass through this area. Foreign visitors at ITC Grand Hotel are brought to our Lalbaug outlet by their guide to introduce them to local food. So, my vision is ‘PAN INDIA”, he says confidently. Managing a food stall at malls is not an easy job, but Jitendra manages it all alone with the help of his kitchen staff. His children are busy with their studies and wife manages home front. From 11 am till 11 pm he manages his food stall at Mall and then drives straight to the Gym at Thakur Complex, which is open till 11.30-11-45. He has also realized the importance of fitness and this is how he finds time for it.
Academically a Mechanical engineer , he has opted for this profession because it is a family business and above all he is a good listener. He talks philosophically with a lot of knowledge acquired by him while dealing with people with different attitude over the years. “Actually 95% of the people don’t know about money market. They don’t know how GDP works. Yet, they talk on this subject. I have myself experienced this while dealing with most of the people in my day to day life. The biggest ‘mantra’ I received from my father and that is ‘you have to be good listener’,” he adds.
When asked about his progress during the past three months in the Growel’s mall Food Court, Jeetendra says ,” Earlier I used to get business only on week ends, but now there is good demand on week days too. People love Maharashtrian food for the preparation method and ingredients used in variety of offerings. We have good home delivery service through Zomato.com. Once they taste our products they come again to us. We already have Diwali Sweets Gift hampers which are sold through our online services. But, this time I am going to try through this mall too. I am also planning to start ‘Steamed Modak’ parcels for Ganapati pooja and festivals. “
Next time when you visit the Food Court at Growel’s 101 Kandivali East, don’t forget to visit ‘Ladoo Samrat’ food stall. With all this future planning ‘Ladu Samrat’ is sure to go worldwide and we are sure Mr. Jitendra would achieve his ultimate goal of ‘Pan India’ . Wishing him all the best.