Bringing together restaurant and hospitality stakeholders across six districts to strengthen industry collaboration, address regional challenges and drive growth

Kolhapur, October 07th, 2026: The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has strengthened its presence in Maharashtra with the launch of its Western Maharashtra Chapter in Kolhapur, marking its third chapter in the state and further expanding its regional network. Launched in the presence of Her Highness Shri Sou. Madhureemaraje Malojiraje Chhatrapati as the Chief Guest, the chapter brings together restaurant owners, operators and hospitality stakeholders from Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Ratnagiri, Solapur and Sindhudurg on a common platform to strengthen industry collaboration and address the opportunities and challenges shaping the region’s food service ecosystem.

Western Maharashtra is emerging as an important growth region for India’s restaurant and hospitality sector, driven by its rich culinary heritage, entrepreneurial ecosystem, tourism potential and evolving consumer base. The growing movement towards domestic travel is further strengthening the opportunity for restaurants and hospitality businesses across Tier-II and Tier-III centres, creating new avenues for local businesses to grow and evolve with changing consumer demand. The new chapter will connect the region’s restaurant community with the wider industry ecosystem while creating a stronger platform to address market-specific challenges and share knowledge and best practices.

Pranav Rungta, Vice President – NRAI and Director – Mint Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., said, “India’s restaurant industry is expanding into a much broader and more diverse set of markets, with regional ecosystems bringing their own strengths, consumer insights and entrepreneurial energy to the sector. The growth of domestic tourism is playing an important role in this shift, creating demand in Tier-II and Tier-III centres and enabling local restaurant ecosystems to evolve and grow. At NRAI, our focus is on taking the industry conversation deeper into these markets and creating stronger connections between regional businesses and the larger restaurant ecosystem. Western Maharashtra brings a distinctive food and hospitality landscape to this network, and the launch of the chapter strengthens our engagement with the region. As we continue to deepen our presence across Maharashtra, including in emerging markets such as Vidarbha, we look forward to bringing more regional restaurant communities into this larger industry network.”

Parth Ujjwal Nageshkar, Chapter Head, NRAI Western Maharashtra, said,“Western Maharashtra has a strong and evolving food and hospitality ecosystem, with businesses that carry a distinct culinary identity while adapting to changing consumer expectations. The launch of this chapter is an opportunity to bring this diverse community together, connect businesses across the region and create greater avenues for collaboration and growth. Our focus will be on understanding the priorities of restaurant businesses in the region, enabling them to learn from each other and creating a stronger platform for Western Maharashtra to contribute to the larger conversations shaping India’s restaurant industry.”

The chapter launch brought together industry stakeholders for a series of workshops and discussions focused on some of the key priorities for restaurant businesses today, including hiring and talent, scaling beyond metros and the evolving relationship between restaurants and aggregators.

The programme culminated in the panel discussion, “Stronger Together: Building the Future of Restaurants,” featuring Pranav Rungta, Praful Chandawarkar, Nishit Pandey, Anurag Katriar and moderated by Saili Jahagirdar. The discussion explored technology and AI, changing consumer behaviour, opportunities beyond metros and the future of the restaurant industry in Western Maharashtra, bringing together perspectives on the opportunities and challenges shaping the sector.

On the occasion, Her Highness Shri Sou. Madhureemaraje Malojiraje Chhatrapati, who attended the event as the Chief Guest, highlighted the potential of NRAI’s presence in Western Maharashtra to help take the region’s diverse local cuisines from Tier-II and Tier-III cities to a global audience. She emphasised the importance of showcasing the best of regional food and strengthening the local restaurant ecosystem, while noting that NRAI’s training and capacity-building programmes could further support the growth of food entrepreneurs and the emerging startup culture across Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and neighbouring regions. She also expressed her support for NRAI’s efforts to take regional cuisines to the global map and offered to facilitate any required support from the government and administration.

The Western Maharashtra Chapter will be steered by a dedicated core committee comprising Chapter Head: Parth Ujjwal Nageshkar, Owner, Castle; Co-Chapter Head: Vijayraj Vidyadhar Khobare, Partner, Republic Fine Dine; Secretary: Ajay Shashikant Shinde, Director, Mulberry Group of Hotels; Joint Secretary: Rohan Sanjay Komti, Managing Director, Vyankateshwar Group of Hotels; Treasurer: Malhar Ravikumar Jadhav, Proprietor, MRJ Foods; and Joint Treasurer: Akshay Ashok Bagade, Proprietor, AKSHVEERA Designs.

The launch of the Western Maharashtra Chapter also marks another step in NRAI’s efforts to deepen its presence across Maharashtra, with the association looking to bring more regional restaurant communities into its network and strengthen industry representation across the state.

About NRAI:

National Restaurant Association of India is the voice of the Indian Restaurant Industry. Founded in 1982, it represents the interests of 500000+ Restaurants, an industry valued at INR 5.69 lakh crores. Being the leading association of the Indian Restaurant Industry, NRAI aspires to promote and strengthen the Indian Food Service Sector. The Association in its 43rd year has a pan India presence and is governed by a committee of members and led by a President and Office Bearers. The committee consists of over 30 Restaurant CEOs / Owners representing various national and international brands from the F&B sector. The association works closely with a network of State and City Chapters across the country.

Website:https://nrai.org/