Business: Hot Breads Bakers and Indian Grill
Address: 1603 N. Aurora Road, Naperville
Phone, website: 630-369-7482, www.chicagohotbreads.com
Owner’s name: Raj Challa
Number of years in business: “We originally opened in Schaumburg in 2008. We are in Naperville since 2010,” Challa said.
What does this business sell? “We have two parts to Hot Breads. We are an Indian bakery, and we are a fast-food place. We make the cakes for all occasions — birthday cakes, wedding cakes, baby showers and so on. … We make breads as well — sandwich breads, local breads, and we are the only ones who make it. And then we have the traditional Indian fast food. If you go to Mumbai, if you go to Hyderabad, if you go to south or north, west and east of India, they have different types of cuisines. So we cater to some of those areas in the fast-food section.”
What was the impetus for opening this business? “It’s actually kind of interesting. I fell into it. I was an IT professional for 10, 15 years, and I was looking for a business. There is a demand, this is an Indian restaurant, and it is actually derived from India. We just brought in the idea.”
What is the best thing about being located in Naperville? “There is a great variety of customers in Naperville. We have a location in Schaumburg, one in Wheeling and the Naperville location. The Naperville location is probably the most multicultural. People are open for different types of food.”
What is the biggest challenge about being located in Naperville? “No challenges. I didn’t find anything challenging. The people are very nice, and it’s a safe place. It’s a great place. The city is very cooperative and helpful.”
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When is your busiest time of year? “We are all year-around. We get pretty packed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Starts Friday at 4 p.m. and goes until Sunday at 9 p.m. We get busy throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We do offer our breakfast items all day long.”
What is the most popular item on your menu? “Definitely our cakes, which are desserts, we call them that. We have 12 different flavors. And then we are obviously also famous for our Indian fast-food menu.”
What is a less popular thing you would recommend? “The masala dosa. It’s basically a very thin rice-flour pancake. You can get it here and nowhere else, really.”
What is the thing you most like to do as part of your business? “Customer service — talking to our customers, making sure they are taken care of. That’s the best thing.”
What is the best thing about owning your own business? “I take pride in providing employment. I have a lot of good people working for me. We have about 30 people working in all three locations. Take pride in them, we work hard. Obviously we strive to offer good quality food at all times.”
What is the biggest downside? “There are always ups and downs, you know. There are always things that happen in the day. I was talking to one of my employees this morning, and he said, ‘Hey, what are you going to do on Sunday?’ and I answered, ‘I have no idea what I’m going to do on Sunday.’ That’s just how it is.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “Since the name says Hot Breads, people think it’s only breads. And it’s not. I see a lot of customers who are asking for our bread section, and it’s actually rather small. But we sell about a hundred different items in our restaurant, mostly cakes and some breads, and mostly fast food. I would say 70 percent is our fast food. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions I have had no luck dissolving.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “We basically focus on three things mainly, which is high-quality customer service, good food and clean restaurants.”
How has your business changed over the years? “We have obviously refined our menu, expanded our menu. But we stayed in the same domain. We do offer the Indo-Chinese cuisine, but that’s also popular back in India.”
Do you have any future plans to expand? “Yes, we are actually planning a new location in south Naperville, towards Bolingbrook.”
What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a store? “The first thing would be to be excited about the business. And then also to care about the customer. And obviously, expect the unexpected.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.