Sajna: The secret ingredient to keeping a restaurant lively over 3 decades

In the 1990s, eating out meant Chinese food. Some dimly lit Chinese restaurants were perhaps the only options for a fancy dine-out. There were no other cuisines available.

In the same decade, Israt Jannat and Shakhawat Uddin Ahmed went on a vacation to India. It was at a vegetarian restaurant, devouring dosas, that they discovered how delicious a vegetarian restaurant's offerings could be. They were not just delighted but even surprised to see that food could be that tasty without protein like fish and meat. Consequently, they thought of replicating it in Bangladesh.

A restaurant without a protein-based menu was a foreign concept to Dhaka people at the time.

In 1991, "Sajda," a ghazal album (a collaboration between Jagjit Singh and Lata Mangeshkar) was released. Consisting of 16 tracks, the album became a super hit.

Shakhawat – a fan of Jagjit Singh's music – proposed to name the restaurant Sajda. But after much elaborate discussion, the couple settled on Sajna. They also came up with a logo – the same one we see today.

Figures like Jagjit Singh, Asha Bosle, Haimanti Shukla and other Indian dignitaries visited Sajna for dinner whenever they used to come to Dhaka. Even today, the entryway to the restaurant is lined with old photos of different dignitaries visiting the restaurant.

When Jagjit Singh visited Dhaka for shows or other reasons, he used to call the restaurant and ask them to keep it open after hours. "On such nights, I would wait for him," Shakhawat Uddin Ahmed, Sajna's Managing Director, recounted, "and when he came, I told him in Hindi that we were so blessed that he had come to our restaurant."

"But he would counter and reply, 'It's your food that draws me in' – which was such high praise," Shakhawat recently shared with The Business Standard.

From 'Vegetarian Only' to inclusive 

Initially, Israt Jannat (Sajna Restaurant's Director) and Shakhawat started Sajna as a vegetarian restaurant in 1992. They recruited chefs from South India.

The restaurant started in a house-turned-restaurant establishment in Gulshan 1 with a huge parking lot. The restaurant had a capacity then of around 200 customers.

"Then ambassadors, high officials, would come here. Because that was the only option of this sort. So Sajna was kind of a monopoly," explained Shakhawat.

Indian customers would be mostly happy to come here and comments like "as if we are sitting in Park Street in Kolkata" were common. "At first, we received widespread acceptance. People really liked it beyond our expectations," recalled Israt.

But a problem emerged.

Non-vegetarians' options were limited. The couple could predict that their initial popularity was likely to wane because in a Muslim-majority country, a fully vegetarian restaurant was not a wise business model. Within a year of launching, the couple decided to include non-vegetarian items.

Consequently, Sajna catered to a wider customer base beyond vegetarians.

A 'mobile food van' 

Sajna was known for its creative solutions for office-goers back in the day. They started their mobile restaurant or a restaurant in a van in 1996.

"With that, Sajna went to the masses. The idea was to cater to office goers, and so we set up mobile restaurants in Dhanmondi, Motijheel and many other locations. We gradually extended to eight vans – six in Dhaka and two in Chattogram," said Israt.

Response for this model was again successful. It served selected items such as chaat, dosa, puri, etc. The vans were operational from 1996 to 2002.

The uptick in traffic jams – which prevented the vans from reaching the office-goers in time for lunch – became an issue. "Also extortion became another issue," said Israt.

Eventually, the couple decided to shut down the food vans. Even today, they get requests for Sajna vans. However, they are still not thinking of bringing it back at the moment.

Expansion beyond border

In 2000, Sajna moved to Banani 11. They can still seat 200 customers.

Sajna has been here for a long time, but they are not expanding in Bangladesh. According to the couple, with expansion, taste or quality may vary from branch to branch and they don't want that.

However, Sajna has expanded beyond borders. In 2019, Sajna opened a branch in Toronto, Canada. They were operational for six months, creating a craze among the Bangladeshi community. It was well accepted. People could recall their memories in Bangladesh associated with Sajna.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused its shutdown. The restaurant owners are thinking of reopening its short-lived Canadian branch.

Apart from that, they have industrial catering.

In the past, they catered to two schools: American International School and Scholastica School Uttara. They used to cater tiffin for 1,600 students daily.

Currently, they still have outside catering – serving office, home or ceremonies for 100, 500 or even 1,000 guests.

Two years ago, Sajna opened a new service inside a new 4-star hotel in Rajshahi. "That's a bit different, [under Sajna brand] there are four sections – a restaurant, a rooftop cafe, a bakery section and two banquet halls," explained Shakhawat.

For the Rajshahi venture, they recruited chefs from Dhaka's branch and trained them here. Even spices are sent there from Dhaka.

Play around with the menu  

Sajna is popularly known for serving one of the best dosas in Dhaka. "We have a comment sheet for guest feedback where even guests from India said that they have had better dosa here than in India," said Israt.

Keeping some items constant, Sajna likes to play around with the menu. They are constantly changing it. "I think that's why we do business quite well," Israt added.

Despite being an Indian restaurant, they have other options like Chittagonian Mezbani and Nolli. They also offer Kacchi biriyani at the restaurant and in its catering services.

Sajna is not afraid to experiment. Once an item does well, it becomes a permanent part of the menu. For example, a recently added item, bubble tea, grew popular among young folks so Sajna decided to keep it on its menu.

They have also included items like Chui Jhaal, Shatkora and Kalo Bhuna because of demand.

In terms of ingredients, everything – in really high quality – is available now. Cashew nuts now come from Rangamati. But for the first 10 years of its operations, they used to bring ingredients from India. Ingredients for papad dosa were brought from India then, and now those come to Sajna from Dinajpur.

Change it all, but the people 

Sajna also does not stick to the same decor for too long.

The decor is based on Arabic Jali work and Arabic geometry. This current decor is about six months old.

But it's not a complete overhaul. The chairs are old, but the upholstery is new to give it a modern touch. A fusion between traditional and modern arrangements. "Look at the lights, these have somewhat of an Indian touch," pointed out Israt.

But one thing they don't want to change is their staff.

Since 1992, most of Sajna's staff have stayed with the business. A way to perhaps ensure the same taste and quality. "Because of keeping the same hands as long as possible, we can maintain the standard," said Shakhawat.

When they recruit, they look for experienced chefs, they go through food testing and hygiene assessment. Apart from daily briefings, they are trained every month.

To keep themselves relevant, they offer online delivery and maintain a social media presence, such as on Facebook.

Over the last three decades, while many big name eateries have come and gone, Sajna has maintained its brand value in Dhaka's landscape. They have left a mark on many customers, who still regularly visit. In some cases, even their customers and staff share a bond built on years of knowing each other.