Junior Kuppanna, founded in 1960 by the late Thiru Kuppusamy and Thirumati Rukmini Amma in South India, has brought Kongu cuisine to Sri Lanka by opening their first global flagship store in Colombo. The restaurant, located down Station Road, Colombo 4, had its opening on 25 May, giving all those in attendance an understanding of what Junior Kuppanna stands for and what it has to offer Sri Lanka.

Indian radio presenter Dheenadayalan Natarajan hosted the event, and shared the history of Junior Kuppanna and how it made its way to Colombo. He said that to stand tall for 60 years, there must be passion, compassion, and love, adding that the legacy left by the late Kuppusamy has been taken forward by Moorthy and Arumugan.

According to Junior Kuppanna, Kuppusamy shifted from Coimbatore to Erode at 14 years of age, and worked as a table cleaner for 10 years at a hotel. He later became the Manager of the hotel, before starting his own eatery in 1958 in Erode.

By 1977, Kuppusamy had moved to his own building, where he continued the eatery which was yet to be named. Regular customers referred to him as Kuppusamy or Kuppu Anna (elder brother), which soon gave the eatery the name Kuppanna. In 1983, Kuppusamy’s son Moorthy joined the business and added the word Junior to its name. By 2009, partners Moorthy and Arumugan had expanded the business across Tamil Nadu, and in 2018, Junior Kuppanna opened its 40th branch.

While the restaurant opened its first overseas restaurant in 2017, with an outlet in Singapore, and had over 45 branches worldwide by 2020, the team shared that Sri Lanka was its first global flagship outlet.

Addressing the audience at the Junior Kuppanna – Sri Lanka opening, Junior Kuppanna Chief Operating Officer Vijaya Bhaskar said that it is a great privilege as they are bringing the two countries together. “Bringing a brand from one country to another is not easy. And maintaining the authenticity whenever we travel from a different country is also not going to be easy,” he said, thanking all those who have made this possible.

Meanwhile, Junior Kuppanna Director Balachandar R said that support from various persons motivated them to come to Colombo despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.

“When we talk about two countries and two cultures, what binds culture together is three important aspects: Language, arts, and food. Food is probably the most important emotional entity that binds cultures together and traditionally, I think, Sri Lankans have loved Indian food,” Balachandar said.

He added that over the past 60 years, Junior Kuppanna has become known as the leading South Indian non-vegetarian brand in Tamil Nadu, “with over 50 outlets serving 1.2 million biryanis every year and employing 2,000 people.”

Referring to the Sri Lankan outlet, he shared that hard work manifests in multiple ways, and that: “The team’s hard work of the last three years has shown up in this beautiful structure, which is a heritage building.” He explained that they restored the building and transformed it to what it is not, despite Sri Lanka’s import restrictions and shortage of commodities.

“What we have moved is literally a mountain between India and Sri Lanka,” he said, highlighting what a mammoth task they undertook.

In terms of the team running the Sri Lankan outlet, Balachandar shared that the core chefs were from India, but that those employed from Sri Lanka were taken to India for training for about a month.

“We have had requests from people around the world asking to sign Junior Kuppanna for them in the Middle East, Europe, and America, but we said we are getting the model done right in Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that they invited these persons to visit the outlet in Sri Lanka to see for themselves how the first global flagship outlet looked. Balachandar added that they hoped the Sri Lankan outlet would lead the way to a global franchise.

Junior Kuppanna – Sri Lanka is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 6.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Their menu features over 15 signature dishes and 25 secret recipes, and consists of mouth-watering dishes like mutton, chicken, or mushroom biryani, kovai chicken, mutton nalli fry, vanjaram fish fry, and mutton brain fry.

Photos Pradeep Dambarage