{"id":1212,"date":"2026-06-23T13:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/india-marketing.jp\/india-news\/concu-mumbai-colaba\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T01:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:12:19","slug":"concu-mumbai-colaba","status":"publish","type":"india-news","link":"https:\/\/india-marketing.jp\/en\/india-news\/concu-mumbai-colaba\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyderabad-Born Con\u00e7u Turns an Old Colaba Print House into a Caf\u00e9-by-Day, Bar-by-Night"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nThis article is based on what we could verify As of August 1, 2026<\/strong> in public records and news reports from India. India revises its tax rules and regulations frequently, and the details here may have changed since. When making an actual business decision, please check the latest information with primary sources such as the ministries responsible and local experts.\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Con\u00e7u, a patisserie-caf\u00e9 born in Hyderabad in 2012, opened its first store in June 2026, in its 14th year, on Pasta Lane, a back alley in South Mumbai's Colaba. The property is a former print house. Mumbai design firm Essajees Atelier has turned the roughly 2,700-square-foot, 50-seat space into a single-building format that changes face \u2014 a caf\u00e9 by day, a cocktail bar by night. A brand that built its following in a regional city choosing to move into a big city not through a prime location but through an \"old building down a back alley\" \u2014 this move gives Japanese companies considering entry into India's food-service market reason to rethink their approach to location strategy and spatial design.<\/p>\n\n

A Hyderabad-Born Brand Chose an Old Mumbai Print House<\/h2>\n\n

Con\u00e7u's founders are a husband-and-wife pair with engineering backgrounds, Swati Upadhyay and chef Sahil Taneja. They started as a small patisserie in Hyderabad in 2012 and later expanded into Bengaluru. In their 14th year, they took the step into Mumbai, India's largest commercial city.<\/p>\n\n

What stands out is the choice of location. The new store isn't on Colaba's main thoroughfare but stands on a quiet back alley called Pasta Lane. The building is a former print house, a triple-height space (ceilings spanning three stories) that retains decades-old stone walls, exposed brick, and bare wooden beams. Sarah Sham of Essajees Atelier, who led the design, chose not to build a new box but instead turned the weight of South Mumbai's old architecture directly into the store's asset. The roughly 2,700-square-foot interior is divided into window-side corner seats, sofa seats, and a large communal table, centered around a long island counter that shows off dessert-making and coffee extraction.<\/p>\n\n

Why Are Regional Brands Now Targeting 'Non-Prime' Locations in Big Cities?<\/h2>\n\n

India's food-service scene has shifted in recent years from \"filling up cheaply\" toward \"paying for time and experience.\" The segment of urban consumers willing to visit a specialty shop just for a cup of coffee has thickened, and homegrown specialty players such as Third Wave and Blue Tokai have expanded their store networks. Con\u00e7u's format, which extends all the way to evening cocktails, compresses this shift into a single store. Breakfast in the morning, a workspace at midday, dessert in the afternoon, a bar at night \u2014 it switches the customer's use case throughout the day, designed to earn through dwell time.<\/p>\n\n

The trend of regional-city brands expanding into Mumbai isn't new in itself. The same pattern of a homegrown brand going after big-city demand also shows up in Bengaluru-born Boba Bhai's move to reach a scale of 100 stores in two and a half years (Boba Bhai Reaches 100 Stores in Two and a Half Years<\/a>). What's different about Con\u00e7u is that it bet not on the speed of scaling up but on \"where and in what kind of box to open.\" Prime locations in Mumbai command high rent and are held by franchise chains. If a regional single-store brand fought on the same turf, it would be crushed by rent. That's presumably why it chose a historic building down a back alley instead \u2014 a place where it could compete on story rather than rent.<\/p>\n\n

Verifiable Facts: Scale and Format<\/h2>\n\n

Here is a summary of facts that multiple media outlets agree on.<\/p>\n\n\n
Item<\/th>Description<\/th><\/tr>\n
Founded<\/td>2012, Hyderabad (14th year)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Existing locations<\/td>Hyderabad, Bengaluru<\/td><\/tr>\n
New Mumbai store<\/td>Pasta Lane, Colaba (former print house)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Size<\/td>Approx. 2,700 sq ft, 50 seats<\/td><\/tr>\n
Design element<\/td>Essajees Atelier (Sarah Sham)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Format<\/td>Caf\u00e9 by day \/ all-day menu plus cocktail bar by night<\/td><\/tr>\n
Estimated cost for two<\/td>\u20b92,500 (as reported by media)<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n

A density of 50 seats across 2,700 square feet isn't a design built on packing in tables and earning through turnover. The spacing, which gives each seat room to breathe, suggests it's built for customers who linger. The estimated per-couple check of \u20b92,500 likewise supports an approach built on ticket size and dwell time rather than turnover.<\/p>\n\n

Industry and Consumer Reception<\/h2>\n\n

Local media coverage can be organized into roughly three themes.<\/p>\n\n