User:Wilhelm Tell DCCXLVI/New Krishna Bhavan

New Krishna Bhavan was a vegetarian restaurant in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru. Founded in 1954 by Ramakrishna Prabhu, it ran for seven decades and primarily served Udupi-style cuisine, as well as dishes from interior Karnataka and from North India.

History

Ramakrishna Prabhu, an Udupi native, moved to Bangalore at the age of thirteen. Starting out as a dishwasher, he eventually established the Janata Hotel in the K. R. Market area. In 1954, he purchased a property on 33/39 Sampige Road in Malleshwaram at a cost of ₹75,000 (equivalent to ₹7.6 million or US$91,000 in 2023) and established New Krishna Bhavan, mainly to cater to employees of the nearby Raja Mill. The restaurant initially had seating for families and a separate self-service section to handle high volumes of food - sometimes up to 3,000 four-anna meals a day - at speed. Mill workers could avail discount coupons. Students and working bachelors also frequented the restaurant.

After the closure of Raja Mill, the self-service area was converted into an air-conditioned dining hall called Gopika in the mid-1980s, one of the few in Bangalore at the time. The restaurant began to receive regulars, primarily; many Malleshwaram residents who frequented the restaurant for multiple decades, often ordering the same dishes every day. Ramakrishna Prabhu's sons, Sundar and Gopinath Prabhu, eventually took over operations; after Sundar died in 2001, his son Sunil took his place at the age of 24. As the restaurant became more famous, it began serving a more generalised audience, and also received frequent visits from notables such as actors, cricketers, and politicians.