Amruth Sports Bar Is Latest Venture for Local Entrepreneur

The strip mall at 330 Mayfield Drive in Franklin has proven to be a successful home for Venu Alokam and his partners' businesses. First came the South Asian grocery store India Bazaar 10 years ago, then an expansion of the hot bar Chai Samosa next door.  

One door further is the latest project of Alokam, a 25-year Franklin resident. At Amruth Sports Bar, he hopes to attract more of the Franklin community, while his other businesses serve mainly South Asians like himself. 

Amruth, which in Sanskrit means “nectar that promises immortality,” is set to show a variety of sporting events, including hockey, football, college and high school sports, cricket and soccer. The bar also has an audio system and stage ready for live performances, Alokam tells the Williamson Scene. 

Alokam’s IT background shines through in one of the largest high megapixel LED screens in the area, too.   

While it shares an owner with the Indian food offerings, Amruth offers classic bar foods like nachos, tacos and pizza. However, it benefits from having fresh ingredients on standby just two doors down. The wings have been the standout item on the menu thus far, says general manager Yesh Reddy, which come fresh from the butcher next door. There’s also a selection of Indian beers and whiskey. 

 “It's a very hard thing to do, considering that we're also competing with like 25 other bars in the Cool Springs area,” Reddy says. “I think we're getting there, because when people come in and they try the food, they’re like, ‘you definitely can’t get this at a sports bar.’ When the ingredients are so fresh and the vegetables are so fresh, obviously that's going to translate into a better product on the plate.”  

India Bazaar offers reasonably priced fresh produce, as well as huge bags of rice, tea and coffee, spices, and even specialty chips imported from India through a wholesaler. 

“When I moved from California to here in 2000, the Indian community was very limited,” Alokam says. “After a few years, the community was growing, and I didn’t see a good grocery store with specific needs for Indian customers.”  

Reddy, who grew up in the area, remembers having to commute to Nolensville Pike or shop in the limited Publix international aisle with his family as a child. Despite not having experience in the food or grocery business, Alokam and two local partners sought to make a larger store, one closer to the Franklin community. He recently began working in the business full-time.

“The toughest part is in India, each state eats different,” he says. “They have their own kind of rice. The food they make — each state has so much diversity. For example, some of these rice items one state doesn't eat at all, but another state, they consume a lot. So we have to accommodate all those different types at one place so that everybody can come in and try it out.”  

At Chai Samosa, there’s Chai tea on tap, of course, and the popular Indian street food Samosa as well. The counter also offers desserts, milkshakes, fresh bread and custom cake options. Both Chai Samosa and Amruth are open for lunches, but the cafeteria of sorts comes alive after 4 p.m., when the South Asian community eats a snack between 4 and 6 p.m. and has a late dinner closer to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.  

Indian food is difficult to make, even for someone who grew up with it, admits Reddy. For some locals, Chai Samosa is their first foray into the cuisine. The staff at Indian Bazaar is happy to consult on which ingredients to buy to replicate it at home (or offer one of the frozen dishes). Or, they can always stick with the American classics at Amruth.   

 “I see a lot of people ask those questions what are the ingredients I need to buy?” Alokam says. “What are the spices I need to get? We'll show them everything. We have everything.”