Karigari is quietly building one of India’s most interesting dining stories not as a celebrity chef-led brand, but as a cultural platform designed for scale, structure and long-term growth. Co-founded by entrepreneur Yogesh Sharma and culinary entrepreneur Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, the company sits at the intersection of culture, capital and operational discipline.

Unlike traditional chef-driven concepts, Karigari is positioned as a replicable Karigar-based platform, converting India’s hyper-local food intelligence into a format that can travel across cities, formats and markets. In just three years, the brand has expanded to 11 operational formats across North and South India, with seating capacities ranging from 90 to 190 covers and footprint sizes that balance premium dining with operational efficiency. Unit economics remain stable, supporting expansion into both metro and high-growth Tier-2 markets.

What sets Karigari apart is how culture is operationalised as a business strategy rather than a nostalgia play. Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi’s role extends far beyond the kitchen. Drawing from decades of documenting India’s regional food micro-economies, he translates lived culinary knowledge into IP-driven menu storytelling designed for consistency and scale. From Bela Chameli Sharbat inspired by Bikaner’s perfumed drink traditions, to Shogum Shuda, a modern functional beverage built on coconut water and indigenous flavours, and Chicken Sajji, adapted from frontier cooking into a high-volume bestseller these dishes are built with memory equity, repeatability and commercial logic.

On the business side, Yogesh Sharma leads brand architecture, location strategy, format diversification and capital discipline. His focus is on aligning cultural storytelling with investor-ready systems, positioning Karigari for its next phase of institutional growth. The company is currently mapping an expansion roadmap of 25 outlets over the next three years, targeting Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and select Tier-2 cities, with a formal market-facing announcement planned in 2026.

Karigari’s journey offers a compelling lens into how India’s casual dining sector is evolving from fragmented, personality-led concepts to organised, scalable enterprises that can attract long-term capital without diluting cultural authenticity. It also highlights how founder-led brands are preparing for visibility, governance and growth while continuing to celebrate karigars at every level of the ecosystem.

Tourist destinations across Himachal Pradesh are witnessing a strong surge in visitor numbers ahead of the New Year, with hotel occupancy levels rising to around 80 to 90 per cent in key hill stations. Popular destinations such as Shimla and Manali are seeing most hotels operating close to full capacity, bringing renewed optimism to the state’s tourism industry.

Despite dry weather conditions so far, tourism stakeholders remain upbeat, largely due to forecasts predicting snowfall around the New Year period. Industry players believe snowfall could further boost tourist inflow, especially in areas surrounding the main towns, where occupancy levels are also expected to rise.

“The room occupancy is about 80–90 percent in Manali which is further expected to rise by Wednesday evening and we are pinning hopes that the MeT office forecast of snowfall on New Year eve keeps date, it would be a boon for tourism,” President, Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Associations, Gajender Thakur said. He added that Manali remains one of the most accessible hill destinations, offering a wide range of tourist attractions and activities.

Similar trends are being reported in Shimla, where hotels are already seeing high occupancy. Prince Kukreja, Vice President of Shimla Hotels and Restaurants, said the occupancy levels are currently around 80 per cent and expected to increase further with snowfall forecasts. He noted that pleasant weather conditions and carnivals organised by authorities are drawing tourists, while snowfall would be a welcome gift for both visitors and locals.

To mark the New Year celebrations, several hotels across the state capital and other tourist hubs have planned gala nights, adding to the festive atmosphere and enhancing the overall visitor experience.

The local Meteorological Department has forecast rain and snowfall across various parts of the state, along with warnings of thunderstorms, lightning and cold wave conditions in several districts. Tourism stakeholders believe favourable weather conditions could help offset the impact of an unusually dry December, which has recorded a significant rainfall deficit across most districts in Himachal Pradesh.

The Adani Group has called on the Central government to allow additional international flying rights as it looks to increase traffic across its airport network, where it is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades. The request places the infrastructure conglomerate at odds with India’s two largest airlines, Air India and IndiGo, which have urged caution in opening Indian skies to overseas carriers.

Adani Airports Holdings, which operates eight airports across India, has asked the Centre to initiate bilateral negotiations with countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia to expand flying rights. The group believes increased international connectivity would support its ambition to transform major Indian cities into global aviation hubs.

The company recently opened the Navi Mumbai airport to commercial operations on Christmas Day and has outlined plans to invest $11.1 billion by 2030 in terminals, runways, aircraft-handling infrastructure and passenger amenities. Jeet Adani, Director at Adani Airport Holdings, has said these investments are aimed at significantly upgrading airport capacity and service standards.

An Adani Group official said restricting international access could undermine these investments. “This will be a criminal waste of assets being built by airports and penalising the Indian customers who will have to pay higher prices due to lack of flights,” the official said. “Increasing access and options for passengers is a crucial aspect of transforming Indian airports into global hubs, and that should not just depend on when Indian airlines are ready to compete.”

India’s international flying rights are governed by bilateral agreements. Since 2014, the government has adopted a cautious approach to granting additional rights, particularly to West Asian carriers, citing the need to protect Indian airlines and encourage domestic hubs similar to Dubai and Singapore. Under the National Civil Aviation Policy introduced in 2016, additional flying rights are generally not granted unless utilisation by Indian carriers reaches 80 per cent.

This policy has resulted in capacity constraints despite strong growth in passenger demand. In some cases, international routes have not seen seat increases for over a decade, contributing to higher airfares. On the Dubai route, for example, seat capacity was last expanded in 2014, and both Indian and foreign carriers have since exhausted their allotted rights.

Indian airlines remain concerned about intensified competition from well-funded Gulf carriers that operate large fleets of wide-body aircraft and carry a significant proportion of transit passengers to Europe and North America. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson recently said that rapid liberalisation could undermine investments made by Indian carriers, noting that a large share of traffic carried by some foreign airlines from India is onward transit traffic.

While airline operators urge caution, airport developers such as the Adani Group argue that limited international capacity could restrict traffic growth and weaken returns on large-scale infrastructure investments, especially in the absence of aggressive expansion plans by domestic airlines.