Nando's Opens Second Pune Outlet in a Mall: How to Read a Food Chain That Digs Deep Into One City

South African-born peri-peri chicken chain Nando's opened its second Pune outlet in September 2026 at Kopa Mall in Koregaon Park, Pune. Its first outlet is at Phoenix Marketcity. CEO Sameer Bhasin said, "Pune has become a strong, exciting market for us." This approach of placing multiple stores in one city and digging deep through mall locations offers a model for Japanese companies aiming for urban penetration of food service in India as they think through store-opening order and mall selection.

The originating news: a second Pune outlet at Kopa Mall, digging deeper into the city

According to reports, Nando's opened a new outlet at Kopa Mall in the Koregaon Park district of Pune, its second store within the city. Its first store is at Phoenix Marketcity, and both are mall locations. Its signature dish is charcoal-grilled peri-peri chicken, marinated for 24 hours in African bird's eye chili combined with lemon, garlic, and spices, then grilled to order. Spice levels are selectable from mild to extra hot.

Background: choosing to go "deep in one city" rather than expand across metros

When foreign food chains build out a footprint in India, there is a growing tendency to layer multiple stores in cities identified as growth markets and raise density there, rather than spreading thinly with one store each across many cities. Pune concentrates IT, manufacturing, and universities, giving it a deep base for food service. Opening a second store at a different mall in the same city lets a chain firmly build brand awareness within the city while sharing its supply network and staff to keep operating costs down.

A mall rollout weaponized by "marination × cooking to order"

Nando's design puts its cooking core — chicken marinated for 24 hours and charcoal-grilled to order — onto the customer-drawing engine of a mall. It positions its marinades, basting, and sauces as made from raw ingredients with no artificial flavors or colors, maintaining pricing through consistency of flavor. The company was founded in 1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and reportedly operates more than 1,250 stores across 23 countries. It is bringing the standardization it has honed at this scale into multiple stores within Indian cities.

• Standardizing the cooking core of 24-hour marination and made-to-order grilling across every store
• Switching malls within the same city to lock in both awareness and operational efficiency at once
• Maintaining flavor consistency with ingredients that don't rely on artificial flavors or colors

How it is being received locally and in the industry

As far as the reporting goes, CEO Sameer Bhasin has said Pune is "a strong, exciting market," signaling an intent to thicken the store network within the city. Details of the franchise operator and concrete future store-opening plans or investment amounts have not been disclosed. What is covered here is limited to the reported facts: "second Pune outlet," "first store at Phoenix Marketcity," and "founded in 1987, more than 1,250 stores across 23 countries."

Implications for Japanese companies: build in a "second store in the same city" from the start

When Japanese food and beverage brands enter India, judging a city solely on the success or failure of the first store tends to lead to withdrawal before awareness has had time to grow. If a second store in the same city is built into the plan from the start, as Nando's has done, the lessons from the first store can be captured at the nearby location. A way of reading suburban mall entry is shown by "Fountain Sizzlers, Armed With a Teppan-Style Concept", and a translation that adapts outside cuisine to the local palate is practiced by is shown by Chinese Room, running for 50 years in Pune. Japanese companies should map out, at the early stage of their store-opening plan, "which city to place two stores in," down to the level of specific malls.

Market impact: a foreign-brand template for building a network through franchising

As a means for foreign chains to build scale in India, the model of stacking up store counts quickly through franchise contracts has also become established. There is the case of a kebab concept that entered via a long-term franchise contract, German Doner Kebab and as designs that entrust operations to local partners to gain speed become more widespread, the window for Japanese companies selling ingredients and equipment will expand beyond the directly operated head office to franchise operators as well.

Practical information and related links

• How to read suburban mall entry (Fountain Sizzlers)
• The Pune institution that translates foreign food into local flavor
• German Doner Kebab, which entered India via a long-term franchise contract
• The South Indian eatery that recreated the "family dinner table" in Pune

Conclusion: write "a second store in the same city" into the plan from the start

Nando's second Pune outlet is one example of a food chain template that digs deep in a single city to build awareness. A move Japanese brands aiming at food service in India can make right now is to decide, even tentatively, alongside the first-store plan, "which mall in the same city the second store will go into." Assuming a second store within the city from the outset lets the lessons from the first be carried forward without waste.

Sources

• Restaurant India"Nando’s opens second Pune casa at Kopa Mall, expands city footprint"