The Kati Roll Company

What The Kati Roll Company does

The Kati Roll Company (TKRC) is a fast-casual Indian restaurant chain founded in 2002 by Payal Saha in Greenwich Village, New York City. The company specializes in Kolkata-style kati rolls — skewer-grilled meat or vegetarian fillings wrapped in paratha or whole wheat roti — alongside a supporting menu of momos (Indo-Tibetan dumplings), sides, lassis, beverages, alcohol, and desserts. TKRC operates seven locations: four in Manhattan (Greenwich Village, Midtown West, Midtown East, World Trade), two in Texas (Dallas, Plano), and one in London, and is widely credited with introducing Indian kati rolls to American diners. The company positions itself on fresh, daily preparation with proprietary spice blends (up to 30 hand-ground spices), halal-certified meats, and antibiotic/hormone-free chicken, with no pre-packaged foods or sauces.

The business operates through three revenue streams: (1) direct restaurant sales via company-owned storefronts, (2) franchise fees and royalties from a recently launched franchising program offering single-unit ($40,000) and multi-unit (3-5 units, $80,000-$135,000) licenses with a 6% royalty, 2% marketing fund, and $300/month technology fee, and (3) corporate catering services. Total per-unit franchise investment ranges from $404K-$845K. TKRC sells through multiple channels including walk-in, direct online ordering (via Toast Tab and BentoBox), and third-party delivery (Uber Eats). The company maintains an active earned-media presence with coverage in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Food Network.

TKRC is privately held by its founders Payal Saha (Founder) and Anil Bathwal (Managing Director) with no disclosed institutional investment, M&A activity, or secondary transactions. The company has 51-100 employees and operates an entirely off-the-shelf technology stack (BentoBox, Toast Tab, Uber Eats); its core intellectual property resides in culinary recipes, proprietary spice blends, and 20+ years of refined operational playbooks rather than in proprietary software or AI.

Name

The Kati Roll Company

Legal name

The Kati Roll Company

Website

https://thekatirollcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Kati Roll Company is a fast-casual Indian restaurant chain founded in 2002 in NYC, operating seven locations across Manhattan, Texas, and London. It serves urban consumers with Kolkata-style kati rolls, momos, and sides, and recently launched a multi-unit franchising program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Sales: Revenue from company-owned restaurant locations selling kati rolls, momos, sides, beverages, and desserts directly to consumers
2. Franchise Fees and Royalties: Initial franchise fee of $40,000 per unit plus ongoing royalty of 6% of gross sales and marketing fund contribution of 2%
3. Catering Services: Corporate catering orders placed through dedicated catering portal

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Kati Roll Company operates a fast-casual Indian restaurant concept selling authentic Kolkata-style kati rolls (skewer-grilled meat or vegetarian fillings wrapped in paratha or roti) alongside momos, sides, lassis, beverages, alcohol, and desserts. The company also generates revenue through corporate catering services and a recently launched franchising program targeting multi-unit operators.

Product overview

The Kati Roll Company is a fast-casual Indian restaurant chain offering kati rolls as its core product alongside complementary offerings. The main product line consists of kati rolls (skewer-grilled meat or vegetarian fillings wrapped in paratha or roti) available in multiple varieties including chicken tikka, steak tikka, shami kabab, achari paneer, chana masala, aloo masala, and unda (egg) variants. Supporting products include momos (Indo-Tibetan dumplings), sides (chips, raita, chutney, breads), lassis (yogurt smoothies), beverages (soda, chai), alcohol (Kingfisher beer, Basmati Rice Lager), and desserts (Gajar Halwa Cake Bite). Additional services include catering and a franchising program for expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kati Rolls Signature Indian street food wraps made with skewer-grilled meat or vegetarian fillings stuffed in buttery paratha flatbread or whole wheat roti, topped with chutneys and spices. Varieties include chicken tikka, steak tikka, shami kabab, achari paneer, chana masala, aloo masala, and unda (egg).
• Momos Indo-Tibetan dumplings, steamed or pan-fried, with chicken or vegan fillings served with a trio of sauces (spicy red chili, tomato sesame, and soy vinegar).
• Sides Complementary items including spicy potato chips (fried and seasoned in-house), raita sauce, green chutney, and paratha or roti breads.
• Lassi Indian-style yogurt smoothies made daily with homemade organic yogurt containing live cultures. Flagship variety is Alfonso Mango Lassi made from Alphonso mangoes.
• Beverages Assorted beverages including soda, colas, water, and Masala Chai (Assam black tea flavored with ginger and cardamom).
• Alcohol Beer selection including Kingfisher (fully matured beer with pleasantly bitter taste) and Basmati Rice Lager (multi-award winning lager brewed to traditional Indian recipe).
• Gajar Halwa Cake Bite Eggless mini dessert cake made with fresh carrots, cardamom, and ghee, topped with almonds, inspired by traditional Gajar Halwa.
• Catering Services Catering services for corporate events and gatherings, ordered through the Toast Tab catering platform for businesses and groups.
• Franchising Program Franchise opportunity offering single-unit licenses at $40,000 per unit (total investment $404K-$845K) and multi-unit agreements for 3-5 units at $80,000-$135,000, with 6% royalty, 2% marketing fund, and $300/month technology fee on a 10-year term.

Quantifiable outcome

• Introduced kati rolls to American diners and built NYC cult favorite

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inday: NYC-based Indian fast-casual concept; directly comparable to TKRC in target customer (urban NYC diners), cuisine (modern Indian), and service model (quick-service with delivery). Competes for the same lunch/dinner/late-night occasions.
• Curry Up Now: Indian fast-casual chain with street food positioning, multiple US locations, and catering; overlaps directly with TKRC on format (wraps/bowls), customer (urban Indian food enthusiasts), and expansion model.
• Tava Indian Kitchen: Indian fast-casual concept with a similar build-your-own / entrée-plus-sides model; comparable on cuisine, price point, and target customer to TKRC.
• Biryani by Kilo: Indian QSR chain focused on biryani and Indian street food; comparable cuisine, delivery-driven model, and US multi-city footprint to TKRC's franchise ambitions.

Broad incumbents

• CAVA: Large US fast-casual Mediterranean chain; comparable on the underlying fast-casual unit economics, build-your-own format, urban trade area strategy, and growing franchise/company-store mix, though not Indian cuisine.
• Shake Shack: Public fast-casual leader with strong NYC origins, cult brand, and city-by-city expansion playbook; a useful operational and brand-equity benchmark for TKRC's growth phase.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill: The benchmark US fast-casual chain; comparable in service model, kitchen throughput design, and franchise/expansion considerations, though at vastly greater scale than TKRC.
• Sweetgreen: Public fast-casual chain built on a single-format concept and a digitally native ordering stack; comparable on technology integration (Toast/BentoBox/online ordering) and unit-level operational discipline.

Regional players

• Paradise Biryani: Large India-based Indian restaurant chain best known for biryani; useful comparable for category economics, menu architecture, and chain operations, but primarily serves the Indian market rather than the US.

Others

• Saffron Road: US-based Indian and ethnic frozen/CPG brand; an adjacent thematically related player that demonstrates the path from Indian restaurant equity to packaged retail products, a potential future extension for TKRC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KatiRollCompany
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheKatiRollCompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/thekatirollcompany

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Kati Roll Company