1940 India by Azad, India’s first slow-food fast-service ethnic restaurant brand, opens second outlet at Lulu Mall, Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 1940 India by Azad, India’s first slow-food fast-service ethnic restaurant brand, has opened its second outlet at Lulu Mall, Thiruvananthapuram, within eight months of launching its first. The outlet was inaugurated by Abdul Nazar Azad, Chairman, Azad Corporate in the presence of Lulu Mall Officials.

The new 1940 India by Azad outlet also heralds the launch of the brand’s mall restaurant vertical, following the introduction of its main-street vertical eight months ago.

The 85-year-old Azad Corporate House, led by chairman Abdul Nazar Azad, one of India’s oldest names in the food business – spent two years conceptualizing this unique brand, aimed at celebrating Indian cuisine globally while firmly aligning itself with the Slow Food movement.

Since the launch of 1940 India by Azad in May 2025 at Vazhuthacaud in Thiruvananthapuram, the Azad Corporate House has popularized the 1940 dining experience through curated food festivals such as the 1940 Street Food Kebab Festival and the Desi Bowls of Asia Festival.

1940 India by Azad has also introduced valet parking and a branded pick-up and drop car service for customers, the first such initiative by a restaurant in India, in keeping with the slow-food philosophy’s focus on local communities and traditions.

Mr. Azad is a second-generation restaurateur with over five decades of experience in the food and hospitality industry. The 1940 India by Azad brand was developed under the Azad Corporate House by managing directors Mahin Azad, Wazim Azad and Ozman Azad, who head various business verticals of the group, under the leadership of Mr. Azad and managing director Nazeera Nazar.

“As a corporate house, we are proud to contribute to taking Indian cuisine to global audiences. By establishing a presence in one of India’s largest malls, we are reaffirming our commitment to standing alongside global brands on an equal platform. We are working to bring fresh thinking and faster innovation to the restaurant industry with the aim of popularizing Indian cuisine globally through 1940 India by Azad and building it into one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands from India,” Mr. Azad said.

The ‘1940’ brand name holds special significance for the Azad group as it marks the year the Azad brand was founded 85 years ago. The restaurant also moves away from the conventional practice of classifying menus by product categories. Instead, the 1940 menu is structured around customer identities and preferences through sections such as ‘I Am Young’, ‘I Am India’, ‘I Love Asia’ and ‘My Travancore, My Love’. The broader concept envisions every 1940 India by Azad outlet featuring four distinct cuisine segments – hyperlocal cuisine, pan-Indian cuisine, popular dishes from the respective continent, and specialty offerings tailored to younger consumers in that region.

The strategy for this new and unique restaurant category was formulated by &Matthai Strategy Consulting, the strategy consulting brand of The Breakthrough Group.

“I admire the Azad family’s vision of taking Indian cuisine to global audiences. In the strategy formulation phase, the family embraced innovative thinking, leading to the creation of a pioneering new restaurant category in India with the potential to scale globally,” said Manoj Matthai, Founder & Strategist, &Matthai Strategy Consulting.

The recipe research and standardization of traditional Indian delicacies were done by ‘Once Upon a Time,’ an Azad brand that identifies, preserves and documents traditional original tastes. The architectural design and implementation were done by Lleenmaskan, celebrating its ideology of ‘Progressive Lifestyle’. The strategy implementation and go-to-market communication for the 1940 brand were handled by Breakthrough Brand & Business Consulting. The brand story and the brand narrative were set by Storilines for the new 1940 Mall vertical and StoriSpace designed the branded spaces for the new outlet, adapting elements from the original main-street format.

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