A car date and food
The Hindu
Ayush Singh transforms car junk into trendy mini-cafes, Maple Pods, offering unique dining experience in Delhi-NCR.
Businessman Ayush Singh has been a witness to the rapid urbanisation of his city, Delhi, and also has always worried about the load of automobile junk generated and often found dumped as waste all around. Two years ago, he came up with the idea of creating some unique car models out of the junk and turning them into mini-cafes.
And so was born the concept of Maple Pods, which have become instant hit. The small dining space resembles a car and comfortably fits six people. While munching on food inside the air-conditioned space, people can also enjoy UNO and other board games or watch Netflix on the TV screens installed inside the ‘cars’.
The Maple Pods provide privacy in public space, says Ayush. At present, the two pods are positioned outside the cafe-style restaurant, House of Migo in Sector 143 Noida and the Indian and fast-food cafe Throttle Shottle at Gwal Pahari (near Golden Tulip hotel) on Faridabad-Gurgaon Road. The one in Saket, Delhi is not operational at the moment.
Guests can book packages ranging from two hours to six hours and depending on the number of people and occasion and the kind of food ordered, the cost varies from ₹1699 to ₹7500. To create an experience, the packages are tailored to the customer’s requirements. Mostly young couples book the slots for birthday and anniversary packages or solo date packages. The games and Netflix packages are also designed as per the customer’s demand.
The food is ordered from the cafe or restaurant where the pod is parked, and the company is in a tie-up. People can even book the slot for the pod under just chill package and get their food ordered through various delivery apps.
The Maple Pod slots can be booked on the website maplepods.com or the application can be downloaded from the Playstore on phone.
Ayush says the concept of Maple Pods is common in several European countries and in the West where they are parked near airports, hospitals, libraries and universities for the convenience of visitors. Ayush who has come on Shark Tank, is contemplating on partnership with Airbnb in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida.
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