Restaurant News is sponsored by The Kitchen Porters Club
Chaiiwala, the UK’s leading Indian street food café brand, has opened its first 24-hour drive thru café at Grimshaw Retail Park in Blackburn, marking a first-of-its-kind opening for the brand.
Founded in Leicester in 2015, Chaiiwala is known for its carefully brewed Karak chaii and high-quality Indian street food, inspired by traditional flavours and Indian home cooking. Its menu is made using premium, traditional ingredients and closely guarded recipes.
The Blackburn site responds to growing demand for Indian flavours at all times of day and night, offering local consumers a convenient destination for late-night snacks, early breakfasts and Chaiiwala’s signature Karak chaii. The opening will also allow the Group to test the suitability of 24-hour drive thru locations as part of its future expansion plans.
The new café marks a significant milestone in Chaiiwala’s continued expansion across high-footfall, on-the-go locations. The Group now operates five drive thru sites, with two new locations — Nottingham and Blackburn — opened by franchisees within the last six months.
The opening also forms part of Chaiiwala’s wider growth strategy in Blackburn and across Lancashire. As demand for high-quality, accessible Indian street food continues to grow, the brand is pursuing an ambitious plan to reach 500 global locations within the next 10 years, with a strong focus on expanding across the UK and strengthening its presence in key urban locations and cities.
Sohail Ali, Co-Founder of Chaiiwala, said: “Consumers today aren’t bound to the usual nine to five as seen in previous decades, but are often left with late-night options that are stuffy, few and far between, or out of the way.
“As we deliver against our mission to make Indian street food and Karak chaii even more accessible for consumers, we wanted to launch our first 24-hour drive thru and create a new destination for consumers looking for bold flavours, reliable quality, and convenience through the night.
“This will also create an opportunity for our franchisees Arif and Yakub Master to drive incremental sales overnight to support the growth of their business and allow us to gain insights from this store for consideration across other drive thru locations as we expand.”
Restaurant News is sponsored by The Kitchen Porters Club
