Lanka Restaurants and Caterers Pvt Limited a sister company of Lanka ICE Group of Companies will be investing over Rs. 600 million to diversify to the leisure segment and expand their Clement’s Restaurant & Banquet business.Managing Director Lanka Restaurants and Caterers, Upeksha Fernando told Daily News Business after the opening of their second outlet in Chiaw on Tuesday that they plan to build luxury villas in Chilaw and Trincomalee.
Fernando after his higher studies in Australia returned to Sri Lanka and introduced the concept of fully equipped mobile food truck concept which was an instant hit. “Growing from this humble beginning, we launched Clement’s Restaurant in Wattala six years ago and then started catering to corporate starting with opening and maintaining a cafeteria for their 100 plus staff in Hayleys Group while increasing our staff strength from 4 to 75. Today we do outdoor catering and also maintain over 15 cafeterias with leading corporates in Sri Lanka.”
He said that Chilaw had a big vacuum for quality food specially for residents and business establishments and also travellers who ply to Wilpattu Anuradhapura and other areas and this is why they opened in Clement’s Restaurant & Banquet in Chilaw in a 3.5-acre land owned by the family.”He said they source over 60% of their fruit and vegetable requirements from their own plantation in the same land using only carbonic fertiliser and as a CSR inactive 99% of the staff at Clement’s Chilaw is from the area. “We invested around Rs. 75 million to open Clement’s Restaurant & Banquet in Chilaw.
“Under the second phase of this development in Chilaw I plan to diversify to the hotel sector and build 7 Villas with a swimming pool investing Rs. 300 million. I hope to open this in the end of 2022. In 2023 I will add 10 more luxury villas to this property and the total investment would be around Rs. 500 million.”In addition, I also hope to convert a family home in Trincomalee to a heritage tourism luxury bungalow late this year offering high end accommodation to families.”He said they hope to meet both local and foreign travel agents late this year to market these internationally.
The parent company ICE Group of Companies now has 14 Ice plants and Yala Safari Village too comes under this under their group umbrella. State Minister of Rural and Divisional Drinking Water Supply Projects Development, Sanath Nishantha was the Chief Guest at the opening of Clement’s Restaurant & Banquet Chilaw.
