‘Our concept was constant change’

It’s all about the writing on the wall, says partner-owner Thomas Cherian

There are probably two types of people in this city — those who have been to Ghetto, and those who haven’t ever heard of it (very few of the second kind of people exist). One of the oldest pubs in town, this one has been keeping ‘townies’ company ever since it first opened 20 years ago.

On any day, you’ll spot partner-owner Thomas Cherian enjoying a drink at the bar, having as good a time as he had for the last two decades. Looking back, he says, “We had seen a few bars in Bengaluru, but there were none in Mumbai 20 years ago. Here it was mostly nightclubs that worked, which meant we basically had to dress up, pay entry and listen to music we didn’t like to get a drink.”

That’s when Ghetto came into being. “We (Cherian and three partners) painted the walls ourselves. The graffiti was the concept of constant change, which explains the scribbling on the walls,” says Cherian, adding that they never needed publicity or advertising to pull in the crowds.

“Within the first two days, it was packed. Since then we’ve never closed, except on dry days,” he says. The menu, too, more or less remained the same. “We’ve just added a few things. The menu back then was a laminated printout.”

What is different now? “There wasn’t much moral policing back then,” he says, before quickly adding, “And yes, we could smoke inside. That I think is the biggest change.”