The Recipe for Success: Strategy and Flexibility

A year after opening his first Curry Up Now, Pritesh Benjamin knows one thing about business ownership: You’ve got to be ready for anything.

- STEPHANIE SCHOMER

Pritesh Benjamin may have entered the restaurant business, but he had no interest in working in the kitchen. He was an ER nurse looking for a way to create easy additional income, and he thought he’d found the perfect opportunity by becoming a franchisee of the fast-growing Indian street-food chain Curry Up Now. He opened his doors in Hoboken, N.J., in February 2020…and we all know what happened shortly after. When the pandemic began, Benjamin was suddenly juggling a short-staffed kitchen, safety concerns, cautious consumers, and his own hospital shifts. Every expectation he had was upended—but, he says, he was grateful to have the support he needed, and the experience taught him many valuable lessons about running a business.

You originally saw this business as a simple investment opportunity that wouldn’t require your constant presence at the restaurant. But that’s not what happened.