Arjun Waney - The Man with the Secret Sauce

The Man With the Secret Sauce

This Indian-origin octogenarian is one of the most successful restaurateurs and yet possibly among the least known. Meet Arjun Waney…

He is an Indian-origin entrepreneur who started out by serving Londoners some traditional Japanese cuisine two decades ago. Today, his company has over 47 restaurants in global cities. At 82, he is one of the most successful restaurateurs and yet possibly among the least known. He is Arjun Waney.

The Zuma restaurant that he cofounded in 2002 with chef Rainer Becker in London now has 12 venues, from New York to Abu Dhabi, and their company Azumi owns such iconic brands as Roka, Oblix and other ventures include popular restaurants Coya, Le Petite Maison and the members-only The Arts Club.

In between meetings when he finally agreed to get on a call, Waney reveals that the Dubai outlet of Zuma alone makes $30 million a year. The Zuma outlets at Hong Kong and Thailand are considered the highest grossing restaurants in the region, and claims his annual returns from his restaurants and investments are around 350 million pounds (Rs 3,850 crore). Waney’s calendar of new openings is so full till 2026 that he claims he cannot accommodate a request for a new project even if someone offers him 20 million pounds upfront. “Not even a pop up,” he asserts.

Arjun Waney’s has been quite a journey across continents. It began with Partition in 1947 when his family, wrenched from Karachi, moved to Bombay. His father passed away when he was young and his elder brother ensured that he went to study at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1957. Waney says he learnt early in life that he had to think on his feet. He started a chain of specialty import stores called Cost Less Imports, inspired by Cost Plus Imports — which would later become Pier 1 Imports — in the late 1960s. “These stores had everything a student or a young couple would want,” he recalls. His company in the US and Europe was eventually bought by Pier 1 Imports.

Waney recalls that for a man who had not seen much money in life, he was making huge amounts. He started a specialty clothing business called Beeba’s Creations in San Diego which turned profitable in no time. Meanwhile, he started an investment fund called First Winchester Investments. “I was playing tennis through the day and making money,” he jokes.

In 1995, he returned to London and started Argent Fund Management. It was only after he turned 60 that he became a restaurateur. In 2001, he was at a salon where he told his barber that he would love to open a Japanese restaurant as he rarely gets a table at his favourite Nobu. The barber suggested that he meet chef Rainer Becker, who was also looking to start a restaurant. A meeting turned into a serious business discussion and in May 2002 the first Zuma opened in Knightsbridge, London. Since then, Waney’s restaurant empire has grown into a conglomerate of multiple outlets and big brands across the globe.

Waney went on to open an affordable Japanese chain called Roka for those who couldn’t afford Zuma and the members-only The Arts Club in Dover Lane where only the best meet and dine. He says he has always wanted to open niche concept restaurants and will stick to these than mass products. He says these concepts — La Petite Maison that serves French Mediterranean; Oblix at The Shard that is known for seasonal, sophisticated dishes ; Etaru that features contemporary Japanese and Inko Nito that dishes out inventive Japanese — eventually turned into big businesses.

Waney says he is very careful whom he partners with as his brands are a legacy. “I take people out for dinner and judge how they treat the receptionist, the waiters, if they value taste. Money is secondary. What matters is the quality of human being,” he says.

Waney says that a Zuma needs an investment of at least GBP 300,000 a week. So he looks for partners who understand the high standards of his brands. “I once called off a partnership as the person considered Becker as a mere cook and not a gifted chef. That’s not how you treat talent, at least in the West,” he says.

For him, the simple mantra of life has been one can never have good crop with bad seeds. The input has to be right — everything flows from there. A good dish, he says, needs good ingredients. And his restaurants are known to have the highest-quality ingredients and top-notch talent. He says he will never compromise on quality whatever the compulsions may be.

His passion now is charity and he runs a hospital in Bihar, India. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2018 for his services in the restaurant space and charity. He says charity shouldn’t be done for glamour but as a duty. It is, he says, one of the best forms of prayer.

Waney, not known to give many interviews, says he is content living a busy life in London with his wife Judith, daughter Devika Mokhtarzadeh, son-in-law and three grandchildren.

Will he ever have a restaurant in India? He says he has been approached by some of the top business families but he doesn’t quite foresee any of his brands opening here anytime soon. “You cannot have good ingredients waiting custom clearance at the airport for a high quality restaurant as ours,” he jokes. Anyway, he is fully booked — for the next four years.

Arjun Waney, 82

Indian-origin British entrepreneur

Established 50 restaurants — including brands such as Zuma, Roka, La Petite Maison, Coya, Oblix, Etaru, Inko Nito, Il Baretto and The Arts Club — in London, New York, Dubai, Las Vegas, Bangkok, Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh

Born in Karachi, he moved to Bombay post-Partition

Went to study in the US in 1958

Opened his first restaurant Zuma in London in 2002

Established Savitri Waney Charitable Trust (named after his late mother) that his daughter Devika Mokhtarzadeh runs.

Published in The Economic Times, May 22, 2022