In Bangalore’s hospitality community, Dharmendhar, a multidimensional professional with experience in Direct Sales, Retail, Entertainment, and Hospitality Industries, is turning heads. He has received many honours thanks to his distinctive approach to business. He always does something novel and cutting-edge for the business.
He began his career at Eureka Forbes selling vacuum products, followed by a brief stint at Dalal Street Journal Group selling concepts for space travel. Because of his sales strategies, Ravi Melwani engaged him to oversee the Toys Kemp team at Kempfort. When India’s retail boom was just getting started, the first toy store chain there was incredibly successful and established a foothold across the nation with over 30 outlets.
After studying this new industry vertical across the globe, he became extremely fascinated by the food and entertainment industries. He began his employment with HM Group, and Amoeba FECs all over the nation were quite prosperous. The largest chain ever created by an Indian businessman, once more.
Under the same management, he also oversaw the famed Three Quarters Chinese, 20 feet High, Subz, and Chutney Chang restaurants, which were Bangaloreans’ preferred dining establishments. At Amoeba, numerous Bollywood premieres and promotions generated a lot of attention at the time.
Amoeba is now a well recognised building. After working for approximately 17 years with the HM Group, he decided to explore the nightlife industry and joined Gillys Chain of Restobars, the industry leader in Bangalore. He is pleased to have worked at Gillys for five years, which experts opine is equivalent to ten years, as this was the most difficult time for any restaurant to endure, navigate, and recover during the trying years of the pandemic.
Under his direction, Gillys brand expanded quickly, opening 14 locations throughout the city, and it now ranks among the most popular hangouts. In order to prevent the magnanimous group from sinking, Gillys directors Mr. Gilbert and Gurpreet Singh gave him the confidence to manage the business and deal with any crisis.
They even went so far as to risk their own assets in order to promote the sale of their business and ensure the welfare of their workers. He was deeply grateful for this and embarked on a quest to restore Brand Gillys and retake the top spot in Bangalore. The Terrace, Fandom, and Gillys Restobar, three of Bangalore’s most popular live venues, were all part of Gillys’ parent firm, Gigu Hospitality Private Limited.
The Lazy Turtle – Go Slow Pay Low, his creation and a very original dining idea where the longer you stay, the less you pay, and Zodiac Bar and Kitchen, another really original restaurant based around the zodiac signs sprawled over 55000 square feet.
He received recognition this year from the World of Hospitality, the AHPWI conference for being the best general manager in Karnataka, the KTCC Karnataka Business Awards for his contributions to the hospitality industry, and Eazy Diner for his location Gillys Restobar on Bannerghatta Road
Despite not having a background in hotel management, he rose to the top of his field via enthusiasm, commitment, and learning from pioneers in the field.
When he saw hospitality experts building their own brands and succeeding as businessmen, he was always perplexed as to why a retail and sales professional couldn’t do the same and challenged himself to excel in this ever-growing industry. Why should we only depend on IT sector for a successful life . Why not Hospitality sector was his thought process.
