2409:4043:2E16:7306:7D90:679B:2BA0:152C at 03:08, 29 June 2021

2021-06-29T03:08:53Z

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{{Short description|Restaurant chain in India, run by co-operative societies}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox brand
| name = Indian Coffee House
| logo =
| logo_upright =
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption =
| image = Outside board of Indian Coffee House at ernakulam.jpg
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = Indian Coffee House Name Board
| producttype = {{Bulleted_list|[[Restaurant]]|[[Retail|Retail beverages]]}}
| currentowner =
| producedby =
| country = [[India]]
| introduced = {{Start date and age|1958}}
| discontinued =
| related =
| markets = India
| previousowners =
| trademarkregistrations =
| ambassadors =
| tagline =
| website =
| module = 
| module1 = 
}}

'''Indian Coffee House''' is a [[restaurant chain]] in [[India]], run by a series of [[worker co-operative]] societies. It has strong presence across India with nearly 400 [[Coffeehouse|coffee houses]].<ref name="thehindu_morethan">{{cite web
| url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/09/23/stories/2002092300480100.htm
| title=More than just coffee 'n snacks
| work=[[The Hindu]] MetroPlus Kochi
| date=23 September 2002
| access-date=13 May 2007
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502032934/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/09/23/stories/2002092300480100.htm
| archive-date=2 May 2009
| url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="tribuneindia_crisis_dharamsala">{{cite web
| url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060927/himplus1.htm#13
| title=Crisis in a coffee cup
| author=Vibhor Mohan
| work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]
| date=27 September 2006
| access-date=13 May 2007
}}</ref> It has been a hub for [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|Communist]], [[Socialism|Socialist]] and liberal movements for generations. Thus it has played a very important role in Geopolitics of India as most successful political movements began from here. Many governments have been formed by the people who regularly visited here.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==History==
Coffee had been grown in India by native Indians since the 16th century.<ref name="baba">{{cite book|last1=Wild|first1=Anthony|title=The East India Company Book of Coffee|date=10 April 1995|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=0004127390}}</ref> However, the concept of coffee houses began to gain a little popularity in the 18th century in [[Chennai]] ([[Madras state]]) and [[Calcutta]]. However, as part of the racial discrimination policy of the English rulers, native Indians were not allowed into these coffee houses, which were mainly Europeans-only establishments. During the late 1890s, the idea of an "India Coffee House" chain was formed.<ref name="baba"/>

The India Coffee House chain was started by the Coffee Cess Committee in 1936, when the first outlet was opened in Bombay. In the course of the 1940s there were nearly 50 Coffee Houses all over British India. Due to a change in the policy in the mid 1950s, the Board decided to close down the Coffee Houses. Encouraged by the [[communist]] leader [[A. K. Gopalan]] (AKG), the workers of the Coffee Board began a movement and compelled the Coffee Board to agree to handover the outlets to the workers who then formed Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operatives and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. A co-operative began in [[Bangalore]] on 19 August 1957, and one was established in [[Delhi]] on 27 December 1957.<ref name="thehindu_morethan"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://indiancoffeehousekannur.com/history.html | title=History | publisher=Indian Coffee House Kannur | access-date=22 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918020024/http://indiancoffeehousekannur.com/history.html | archive-date=18 September 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Later [[Bellary]] and [[Madras]] (Chennai) Societies were separated from their mother societies.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}. Malviya Marg Karam Chand Chowk Branch, Jabalpur serves as the head office of ICWCS. In October 2018, Indian Coffee House has its 8th branch of Jabalpur.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thehitavada.com/Encyc/2017/11/1/Indian-Coffee-House-opens-8th-branch-in-Jabalpur.aspx|title=Indian Coffee House opens 8th branch in Jabalpur|website=Thehitavada.com|access-date=2017-11-16}}</ref>

==Management==
There are 13 co-operative societies in the country to run the coffee houses. These societies are governed by managing committees elected from the employees. The societies affiliated under ''All India Coffee Workers' Co- operative Societies Federation'' formed 17 December 1960.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History|url=http://www.indiancoffeehousekannur.com/ourhistory.php |website=www.indiancoffeehousekannur.com |access-date=15 September 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://www.indiancoffeehouse.com/abtus.htm Indian coffee House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724080620/http://www.indiancoffeehouse.com/abtus.htm |date=24 July 2008 }}</ref>

==Branches==
===Kerala===
There are two societies in Kerala.
*'''India Coffee Board Workers' Co-operative Society Ltd. No.4227, Thrissur:''' Established on 10 February 1958.The first Indian Coffee House opened at Thrissur on 8 March 1958. It was also the fourth ICH in the country. The society have more than 50 branches across [[Thrissur district|Thrissur]], [[Ernakulam district|Ernakulam]], [[Idukki district|Idukki]], [[Kottayam district|Kottayam]], [[Pathanamthitta district|Pathanamthitta]], [[Kollam district|Kollam]] and [[Thiruvananthapuram district|Thiruvananthapuram]].
[[File:Menu displayed at Indian Coffee House, Mananthawady, Wayanad, Kerala.jpg|thumb|Indian Coffee House, Mananthavady]]
[[File:Tvdnindiancoffeehouse (89).JPG|thumb|right|170px|An Indian Coffee House shop at Thampanoor, [[Thiruvananthapuram]], Kerala]]

Advocate T. K. Krishnan, a Communist Leader of [[Thrissur]] and [[N. S. Parameswaran Pillai]], the State Secretary of the India Coffee Board Labour Union and a thrown-out employee of ICH were the founders of ICHs in Kerala.

*'''Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society Ltd. No. 4317, Kannur:''' Established on 2 July 1958. The first Indian Coffee House started on 7 August 1958 in [[Thalasserry]]. The society have more than 25 branches across [[Kasaragod district|Kasaragod]], [[Kannur district|Kannur]], [[Kozhikode district|Kozhikode]], [[Malappuram district|Malappuram]] and [[Palakkad district|Palakkad]] districts.

There is also an [[Alternate history|alternative history]] book about the ICH movement, in [[Malayalam]] - ''Coffee Housinte Katha'' or ''History of Coffee House'' by N. S. Parameswaran Pillai under the pen name, Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (Published by Current Books, Thrissur). This is the only published written history of ICH movement in any language. The book won the Abudhabi Shakthi Award as the best autobiography in 2007.

Coffee House outlets in Kerala are noted for their extensive use of [[beetroot]] in their dishes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Coffee House's tryst with Beetroot|url=http://food.manoramaonline.com/food/dine-around/indian-coffee-house-s-tryst-with-beetroot-cutlet-masala-dosa.html|website=Food, Manorama Online|publisher=Malayala Manorama|date=13 July 2016}}</ref>

===West Bengal===
The Indian Coffee House has several branches in [[Kolkata]], including the [[College Street (Kolkata)|College Street]] branch, [[Chittaranjan Avenue|Central Avenue]] branch, [[Medical College Kolkata]] branch and [[Jadavpur]] branch. These are favourite hang-out places among the students and youth, although one can see several old-timers frequenting the coffee houses on a regular basis.

;Coffee House at College Street
{{Main|College Street Coffee House}}
[[File:College Street Coffee House.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Indian Coffee House, [[Kolkata]].]]
The most famous Coffee House branch in Kolkata is the one at the College Street, also known as the "Coffee House at College Street". Though popularly known as College Street Coffee house, this branch is actually on Bankim Chatterjee Street.

The history of the Coffee House at College Street can be traced to Albert Hall, which was founded in April 1876.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/valueformoney/story.asp?id=19|title=NDTV|website=Ndtv.com|access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref> Later, the Coffee Board decided to start a coffee joint from the Albert Hall in 1942. Notable citizens, including [[Aparna Sen]] and [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]], were frequent visitors to the place. In 1947, the Central Government changed the name of the place to "Coffee House".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/flavours-of-another-era/article3219341.ece|title=Flavours of another era|date=29 January 2006|access-date=7 August 2018|website=Thehindu.com}}</ref> The place became a meeting place for poets, artistes, literati and people from the world of art and culture. The coffee house is famous for its ''[[Adda (South Asian)|adda]]'' sessions, and as the breeding place of several political and cultural personalities and movements. A famous song "Coffee House-er Sei Adda-ta" (কফি হাউসের সেই আড্ডাটা), sung by [[Manna Dey]] is based on this Coffee House.

===Chandigarh===
The Indian Coffee House branch in Sector 17 of [[Chandigarh]] was opened in 1964 and remained popular among professionals, journalists, doctors, bureaucrats, lawyers and senior officials.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000812/cth1.htm|title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories|website=Tribuneindia.com|access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref> The branch originally operated in Sector 22, and was shifted to Sector 17 in 1971. The Coffee House on the [[Panjab University, Chandigarh|Punjab University]] campus is popular among students. In 2016, a new branch was opened in Sector 36. ICH Sector 17 was opened in 1969. The Sector 22 ICH was shifted near fountain and now shifted to Kusumpti near Shimla. The Panjab University Student Center was subletted to few ex ICH employees to run the coffee house and not a branch of ICH. ICH has its HQs at Janpath New Delhi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/good-old-indian-coffee-house-to-open-another-branch-in-chandigarh/story-CFtL7Gxr0FAQpG16WemtdI.html|title=New old adda! Coffee House to have another branch in Chandigarh|date=31 May 2016|website=Hindustantimes.com|access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref>

===Himachal Pradesh===
The Indian Coffee House branch in [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamsala]] used to be a popular hang-out of intelligentsia in the city. It was set up, after the district administration approached the Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society, [[Delhi]] in 1991. The society decided to close it down in 2006, after losses ran over 3.5 million rupees.<ref name="tribuneindia_crisis_dharamsala"/> Indian Coffee House has a branch in Shimla.

===Madhya Pradesh===
;Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society Ltd, Jabalpur

There are more than 35 branches in [[Madhya Pradesh]] with more than 10 branches alone in the pioneering city of [[Jabalpur]]. The Malviya Marg Branch in [[Jabalpur]] is the Head Office of ICWCS. The Indian Coffee House is a popular hang-out of Students in the city. Some of the old branches still please the age old people. These have been a popular celebration, meeting points since decades. The food of [[Madhya Pradesh]] is available in [[Jabalpur]].

===Karnataka===
[[File:India-coffee-house-bangalore.jpg|thumb|250px|Waiter with [[turban]] in Indian Coffee House, Bangalore.]]
The 50-year-old Indian Coffee House at M. G. Road in [[Bangalore]] closed on 5 April 2009, after the Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative Society Limited lost a legal battle with the owner of the building to continue in the premises.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090406/836/tbs-bangalore-s-coffee-house-shuts-after.html|title=Bangalore's Coffee House shuts after 50 charming years|website=yahoo.com|access-date=7 August 2018}}</ref> It has been reopened on Church Street, less than a hundred metres away. Another is at [[Koramangala]] opposite to [[Jyoti Nivas College, Bangalore|Jyoti Nivas College]]. Four branches of Indian Coffee House are operating at [[Christ University]]'s Main Campus on Hosur Road, Bannerghatta road and at Kengeri Campus.

===Rajasthan===
There are 2 branches in Jaipur: M.I. Road and Jawahar Kala Kendra.

==See also==
{{Portal|Coffee}}
* [[A. K. Gopalan]]
* [[List of coffeehouse chains]]
* [[Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai]]
* [[Worker cooperative]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.indiancoffeehousejabalpur.com/ Official website] of the Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society Limited, Jabalpur
* [http://www.indiancoffeehousekannur.com Official website] of Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society Limited, Kannur
* [http://www.indiancoffeehouse.com/ Official website] of India Coffee Board Workers' Co-operative Society, Thrissur

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Restaurant chains in India]]
[[Category:Cooperatives in India]]
[[Category:Regional restaurant chains]]
[[Category:Worker cooperatives of India]]
[[Category:Coffee houses of India]]
[[Category:1958 establishments in Kerala]]

Indian Coffee House - Revision history

2409:4043:2E16:7306:7D90:679B:2BA0:152C at 03:08, 29 June 2021