Global coffee shops want a toehold in Metro stations

Everybody wants a pie in the Brand Namma Metro. Global coffee shop brands are now bidding for licences to run cafeteria at the MG Road and Byappanahalli Metro stations.

An artists impression of the cafeteria at MG Road Metro station

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation floated a tender a month ago to run coffee shops at the two stations on Reach 1 to impart a world class feel-good touch to the terminuses. BMRC sources said that besides international coffee brands, government tourism entities too have come forward to book space.

The proposal is to have two terminuses each at the two stations. The cafeteria at the Kumble Circle end of the MG Road station platform will be spread over 47.19 sq metres, while the one on the other end will be spread over 44.33 sq metres. The Byappanahalli station will have cafeteria at the NGEF Layout end (57.59 sq mts) and the Old Madras Road end (71.20 sq m).

The licence fee suggested was on the higher side: Rs 1 lakh or 20% of the gross revenue (excluding taxes) whichever is high for MG Road station cafeteria and Rs 80,000 or 20% gross revenue (excluding taxes) whichever is higher for Byappanahalli cafeteria.

"The response to our tender proposal has been phenomenal. Some of the most popular international coffee brands and retail chain hotels have bid. Nobody even questioned why the licence fee was high. Obviously, the bidders know that the Metro stations are prime locations both in terms of revenue and eyeball gathering. We have extended the time for pre-bid queries so that it gives us some more time to firm up the power requirements with the Bescom," said UA Vasanth Rao, general manager finance, BMRC.

The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) is also among the bidders. "The revenue sharing model will be a win-win situation for licencees. This is a normal business model," Rao added.

The Bidders

The top brands vying for cafeteria spaces at MG Road and Byappanahalli stations.

• Cafe Coffee Day
• Costa Coffee
• Barista
• Au Bon Pain
• City Max Hotels
• Travel Food Service
• Gloria Jean
• Cafe Pascusi 
• Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC)