Lunch and a Legacy
Head to this modest restaurant for fresh, home-style Gujarati thalis
Friends Union Joshi Club, a modest, affordable restaurant serves fresh, home-style Gujarati thalis. Several patrons believe it was set up about a century ago, but owner Yogesh Purohit dismisses it as hearsay. What he is able to confirm is that his father bought it from Sureshbhai Joshi, son of the founder Hargovindbhai Joshi, in November 1969.
Kalbadevi, a hub for traders and merchants, had a large number of home-style canteens back then. “There were no sandwich vendors or dosa stalls,” says Purohit, from behind his counter. From his chair, Purohit keeps an eye on all the diners at the restaurant. “But my father would take rounds of the tables, checking that everyone ate properly and ensuring there was no wastage,” he says.
Then and Now
Those who wasted food were not welcome, and yet there was an “apnapan” in the service. That continues to be true to a large extent. Purohit recognises most of the faces at the tables. In some cases, he knows where they work and their food preferences too. The thali now includes four types of vegetables, a spicy or sweet dal (served according to preference), chapattis, masala rotis and bhakris, as well as rice, papad and buttermilk. While lunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) tends to be a busy time, dinner is relatively quiet.
Purohit, who has been working at the restaurant since he was in fourth grade, recalls a time he was paid Rs 2 per day for serving and clearing plates. “In those days, it cost Re 1 for a monthly lunch subscription,” he says. Before his father took over, the Joshi Club kept a weighing scale and would keep an account of the patrons’ weight. If they had lost weight over the course of the month, they didn’t have to pay the monthly fee. It was during this time that Dhirubhai Ambani was a regular patron— something Purohit is still very proud of.