Iconic Green Cabin gears for new beginning at new location
Cyril Rodrigo Restaurants (Pvt.) Limited, which was owned by entrepreneur Cyril Rodrigo, has disposed the iconic Green Cabin restaurant property on Galle Road, as the company gets passed on to the fifth generation of the family.
The family members yesterday bid farewell to the iconic Green Cabin restaurant property on Galle Road.
“The family has decided to sell the property and the next generation is taking over the business,” Cyril Rodrigo Restaurants (Pvt.) Limited CEO Revantha Devaurendra told Mirror Business.
However, he said that the restaurant would be relocated to a location nearby shortly, which will have a similar atmosphere.
“We are actually in the process of finalising the new premises, which will be in Colombo 3. We will open the flagship restaurant there.
We’d like to maintain a similar environment because it’s a brand which has been there for over 130 years. There are a lot of heritage and fond memories behind it. So, it will be similar, with improvements to service offering,” he elaborated.
Devaurendra noted that the family has ultimately decided it’s time to sell the property and it is now over to the fifth generation to develop the business.
“The Green Cabin was bought by our grandfather, the late Cyril Thomas Rodrigo from De Vos’. He was a man with a vision, who was hard working, dedicated and very passionate. He built us an iconic brand, which was proven to be an invaluable asset to his family to whom he was totally devoted, especially to his 12 grandchildren. Our grandfather was a man of integrity and was respected by all sectors of society.
In fact, he practiced backward integration even before it was ever conceptualised. He truly gave food its rightful place in Sri Lanka. We are very proud of the legacy left behind by our late grandfather,” a family member said.
The business was founded by two Englishmen and the late Mudaliyar Thomas Rodrigo in 1884 and managed the Pagoda Tea Rooms to sample the world famous Ceylon Tea to travellers at a tea kiosk at the Colombo harbour.
Later the business was moved to the premises on Chatham Street and it was bought by the late Mudaliyar Thomas Rodrigo. The son of the late Mudaliyra Thomas Rodrigo, Cyril Thomas Rodrigo, who actively engaged in the business, later bought the property from his father and later established Cyril Rodrigo Restaurants.
The company employs over 160 employees in its outlets and central kitchen and offices.
Devaurendra noted that the business would continue to run at all other key locations: Pagoda Tea Room – Chatham Street, Pepliyana, Rajagiriya, Nawala, Kotte, Vauxhall Street and Templers Road in Mount Lavinia.