After conquering television screens for nearly two decades, Chhota Bheem has finally found a permanent address and it comes with a menu.
Green Gold Animation, in partnership with EBG Group, has opened India’s first Chhota Bheem Café in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, turning the fictional village of Dholakpur into a real-world family hangout. The move marks the studio’s latest bid to stretch its intellectual property beyond content and merchandise into the booming experiential entertainment business.
The café is pitched as more than a themed restaurant. It combines healthy dining, interactive play, retail, birthday celebrations and year-round activities centred around Chhota Bheem, Chutki, Raju, Jaggu and the rest of the gang.
Health is firmly on the menu. Against the backdrop of rising childhood obesity and poor nutrition, Green Gold is positioning the café as a wellness-first destination. NFHS-6 data shows that only 15.3 per cent of children aged six to 23 months receive an adequate diet, up from 11 per cent in NFHS-5, underscoring the need for healthier eating habits.
To extend that mission beyond the café, the company is also rolling out a healthy Bento Box subscription service, offering balanced breakfasts and lunches for schoolchildren through café outlets and offline delivery channels.
“We want to create a destination that brings together healthy food, play, learning and shared family experiences,” said EBG Group founder and chairman Dr Irfan Khan. He added that the concept also opens up opportunities for job creation across hospitality, operations and future franchise networks.
Green Gold Animation founder and chief executive officer Rajiv Chilaka said the café fulfils a long-standing request from fans. “This café gives Chhota Bheem an address. It’s where families can step into his world beyond the screen. It’s the first step in a much bigger vision of taking our characters into everyday life.”
The menu gives familiar comfort food a healthier twist, featuring millet-based pizzas and burgers, nutritious snacks, themed desserts, signature drinks and the franchise’s trademark Power Laddoos. A supervised Junior Chef Quest programme will also invite children into the kitchen to build confidence and creativity while learning basic cooking skills.
This is only the appetiser. Green Gold and EBG plan to open 25 cafés in the first year, backed by an investment of Rs 50 crore, across major tier-I cities before scaling through a franchise-led model. If all goes to plan, the chain could reach 50 outlets within three years.
Future outlets will add storytelling sessions, workshops, mascot meet-and-greets and interactive digital experiences. The expansion is expected to create more than 500 direct and indirect jobs, while Green Gold is already eyeing similar hospitality concepts based on other characters from its animation portfolio.
For Green Gold, the recipe is simple: if audiences have already welcomed Chhota Bheem into their living rooms, the next logical stop is their dining table.
