Riyaaz Amlani, founder of Social and owner of over 80 restaurants, who now runs an ₹800 crore restaurant empire, shared his thumb rule before investing in restaurants.

During a podcast with Raj Shamani, he explained, “If you are investing in a restaurant, your return on capital deployed should ideally come back within 30 months. That is, you should get your money back in 30 months. This is one rule we follow." Advertisement

He also emphasised the importance of achieving a stall-level EBITDA of 15–20%, saying, “It’s becoming harder and harder to make 20%, but let’s say if your sales are ₹100, you want to take ₹20 back home—so a 15–20% EBITDA is expected”.

Amlani cautioned that while PAT (Profit After Tax) is a corporate measure, “at the stall level, EBITDA has to be around 15–20%. Why?

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