Balance Grille with Prakash Karamchandani
Episode description
With a refined focus on clean eating, a literal approach to menu transparency, authenticity, and a digital-first approach, Balance Grille has been turning heads throughout the fast-casual industry since 2010, solving for nearly every issue facing the restaurant arena today and instead turning them into key differentiators for the brand.
Prakash Karamchandani (PK) is the co-founder of Balance Grille. Since its founding in 2010, Balance Grille has successfully reinvented the fast-casual concept, Asian Fusion cuisine, and the franchise business model. It currently has 5 locations, which PK owns and operates along with his buddy-turned-business-partner, HoChan Jang (CJ). PK’s focus is on refining kitchen efficiencies, customer experience, and business operations.
Key Takeaways:
[2:34] - PK shares the experience of meeting HoChan and deciding to team up to create Balance Grille.
[4:40] - During the economic downturn at the time, PK and CJ were turned down time and time again.
[6:38] - It’s not as easy as it seems to go to the bank and get the funding needed to begin.
[8:50] - PK and CJ continue to work together and split the responsibilities to maintain the success of the business.
[10:27] - They did everything themselves in starting the business.
[12:19] - The goal was to create happiness and they did it through food.
[13:47] - The restaurant industry is hard to break into due to tons of competition.
[15:33] - There’s nothing wrong with making a profit, but there’s more to it than that.
[16:58] - From the start, the goal was to create a business that was scaleable.
[18:05] - Franchising is new for Balance Grille as they have only been franchising for one year.
[20:55] - Staying local is a great goal, but consistency is lacking.
[22:54] - PK and CJ have partnered with another company to help scale the business.
[27:12] - They have a very clear vision of how they’d like the franchise structured.
[29:00] - What are you doing right now to set yourself up for success?
[32:31] - The business is growing and thriving right now at a fast pace.
[34:31] - Balance Grille is actively seeking franchisees.
Mentioned in This Episode: