As we complete #8Iconicyearsofdelhiites , we have put together an interesting story featuring eight icons of the city from different parallels of lifestyle. The illustrious list includes F & B – AD Singh, MD Olive restaurants, Auto – Amit Garg, MD Shiva motors, Music – DJ Aqeel, Jewellery – Meghali Gupta, Director Shri Ram Hari Ram Jewellers, Fashion – Shivan Bhatiya, Head Designer and Narresh Kukreja, Creative Director, SHIVAN & NARRESH, Comedy – PAPA CJ, Cinema – Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint MD PVR Ltd. and Real Estate – Yukti Nagpal, Director Gulshan Homes. Read on to know more about their inspiring journey’s so far and plans for the future.

AD Singh

AD Singh, MD Olive restaurants is a name synonymous to delectable food, top-notch service and good times assured. A veteran in the hospitality industry, Singh has given India some of its most loved restaurants and countless memorable nights paired with chique ambience and an experience to cherish. His restaurants are on the bucket list in almost all the major cities in the country like New Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

• When did you know you wanted to be a restaurateur ?
I had never thought about it growing up but just stumbled into it owing to my very sweet tooth. That started the process that led to Just Desserts and got me started as a restauranter.

• What according to you has been the turning point in your career ?
The love and appreciation that Just Desserts got gave me the impetus and confidence to keep going and growing as a stand-alone restauranter.• What has been the biggest challenge for you as an entrepreneur in your illustrious career ?
As a passionate restauranter, it’s awful for me to see how the F and B sector is largely not recognised and respected by many of our state or central governments. We provide a huge amount of employment, we give the governments large revenues through fees and taxes and as importantly we play a vital role in providing Indians a much-needed work-life balance. Today we are largely a very professional sector catering to all walks of life. However, we are still perceived as either elitist or as small outlets underreporting figures and scamming the authorities. This wrong perception colours policy-making at many levels over the years and makes it very hard for us. I feel we should be appreciated as a valuable industry by our governments and hopefully, soon this should happen and we can work together to provide more and more to everybody.

• How has the pandemic impacted your business and what measures are you taking to salvage the situation ?
The pandemic has been very difficult for the F and B industry but what is encouraging are customer’s reactions post restrictions being lifted. To our great relief they’re thronging back to restaurants in larger numbers than ever before … This just goes to show how much eating out is a key part of the very fabric of peoples lives and helps all of us restauranters look forward to a bright future.• Which factors according to you have been instrumental in Olive becoming one of the most loved restaurant chains in the country ?
Olive is much loved across the country as we do our best to care for our customers and we care for our people and hence many of them are with us for years This helps them remember and recognise customers which is important for all of us. I’m personally very hands on and over the years we’ve been able to attract very talented chefs and managers who help us keep improving. Lastly we believe in freshness and innovation which have helped us be popular for over twenty years now.

• Please tell us more about your future plans.
I believe we’ve built very strong brands from Olive to Fatty Bao to Soda Bottle OpenerWala and more and there is a lot of opportunity for these brands to grow in India in the years ahead.