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Mumbai-based food venture The Bohri Kitchen (TBK) will shut down operations on January 31, 2026, bringing an end to an 11-year journey that began as a home-dining experiment and grew into a well-known community-led food brand. Local Samosa spoke with founder Munaf Kapadia about the decision, the brand’s evolution, and what the venture represented for Mumbai’s food culture.
Announcing the closure, Kapadia wrote, “TBK has had a full, complete journey of its own.”
From a Home Experiment to a Recognisable Brand
The Bohri Kitchen started in November 2014 as an informal home-dining experience, where Kapadia invited strangers into his family home to eat food cooked by his mother, Chef Nafisa Kapadia. What began as a small, almost impulsive idea gradually gained traction and led Kapadia to leave his corporate role and pursue TBK full time.
Reflecting on this journey, Kapadia told Local Samosa, “What began as a fun weekend activity eventually became reason enough to pivot my career, leave a dream job, raise funding, build a team of over 40 people, and take Bohri cuisine to a scale I never imagined possible.”
He credits much of the brand’s growth to its authenticity and openness, particularly in how its story was shared publicly. According to Kapadia, this vulnerability helped build trust with audiences and allowed the brand to grow organically.
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Why TBK is Closing
Despite its popularity, Kapadia says TBK struggled to find a model that was both scalable and sustainable over the long term. After several pivots and years of experimentation, the decision to shut down was driven by the need to acknowledge that the venture had reached its natural conclusion.
Explaining this candidly, he said, “TBK succeeded in building a brand that people genuinely loved, but love alone does not always translate into a viable business.” He also pointed to the personal nature of the decision, adding with characteristic humour that the original idea behind TBK had long since been solved.
A Brand That Kept Changing Shape
Over the years, TBK evolved through multiple formats, moving from home dining to cloud kitchens, and later to a catering-first model. Each phase brought its own set of challenges, particularly as the team navigated operational complexities and later the impact of the pandemic.
Kapadia described the brand’s evolution with levity, telling Local Samosa, “TBK’s evolution rivals the evolution of the human species as described by Darwin.” While the long-term vision of recreating the Bohri thaal as a delivered meal never fully materialised, the brand did manage to scale certain offerings and build a strong operational team before COVID-19 disrupted its trajectory.
Its Impact on Mumbai’s Food Landscape
Kapadia believes TBK’s most lasting contribution lies in its approach to storytelling and its role in highlighting home chefs. The brand demonstrated how consistent, honest narratives could create visibility and engagement in food entrepreneurship without heavy marketing spends.
He also emphasised the importance of representation, particularly for community-specific cuisines that often remain inaccessible to wider audiences.
What TBK Hopes to be Remembered for
As TBK closes, Kapadia hopes people will remember the venture for its emphasis on community dining. At its core, the idea was to bring people together over a shared meal and foster understanding across cultures.
Summing this up, he said, “Leaving with a full stomach, a full heart, and a full mind is far more powerful than any business metric, press coverage, or scale we ever achieved.”