The Blog
Notes from the griddle.
What goes into a kati roll, where to eat one, and how a small shop on MacDougal Street became seven stores in New York, Texas and New Jersey.
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What Is a Kati Roll?
Kolkata street food in five layers: paratha, a skewer-grilled filling, lime-cilantro chutney, onions and chaat masala. Here is how each one works.
The Franchise Guide
The Kati Roll Franchise Guide
What owning a Kati Roll asks of you, what it costs, how a store opens and who it suits, in the order owners ask.
Part 1 of 11What It Takes to Own a Kati Roll
Who we look for, the time and capital it takes, and what a Kati Roll partner does all day, from the morning marinade to the late line.
Part 2 of 11Why the Kati Roll Format Works
Six fillings, one griddle, one grill and a roll wrapped in paper. How a Kati Roll store is built to run, piece by piece.
Part 3 of 11What a Kati Roll Franchise Costs
The franchise fee, the total investment, the ongoing fees and the term, what each one covers, and why the Franchise Disclosure Document has the final word.
Part 4 of 11How We Train and Support Our Partners
What we do before you open, on opening day and after: the site and the build, training, recipes and supply, technology, marketing and operations.
Every post
- Franchise
What It Takes to Own a Kati Roll
Who we look for, the time and capital it takes, and what a Kati Roll partner does all day, from the morning marinade to the late line.
FoodParatha or Roti?
Every kati roll comes on one of two hand-rolled breads. Here is how each is made, how they differ, and how to choose yours at the counter.
- Franchise
Why the Kati Roll Format Works
Six fillings, one griddle, one grill and a roll wrapped in paper. How a Kati Roll store is built to run, piece by piece.
FoodA First-Timer's Guide to the Menu
Where to start at Kati Roll: the classic rolls, vegetarian and vegan picks, halal meats, bowls, momos, lassi and the cake bite to finish.
- Franchise
What a Kati Roll Franchise Costs
The franchise fee, the total investment, the ongoing fees and the term, what each one covers, and why the Franchise Disclosure Document has the final word.
Our StoryFrom Kolkata to MacDougal Street
In 2002 Payal Saha opened a 300-square-foot shop in Greenwich Village to make the street food she missed. This is how the first store worked.
Our StoryThe Poster Walls
Vintage Hindi film posters on brick, a painted mural, a miniature-style painting of a woman with a kati roll. What is on our walls, and where to see it.
FranchiseWhere Kati Roll Is Growing
Seven stores in three states, and six markets we are researching, from Houston to Boston. What we look for in a city, with the public figures behind each.
Our StoryTwenty Years in the Papers
From The Telegraph in Kolkata in 2006 to the Jersey City papers in 2026: two decades of stories about our rolls, read in order.
FranchiseFrom Inquiry to Opening
Five steps take you from a short application to a signed agreement, usually in 4 to 6 weeks. Here is what happens at each one, and what comes after.
StoresKati Roll Comes to Journal Square
Our first New Jersey store opened in July 2026 at 924 Bergen Avenue, a few minutes' walk from the Journal Square PATH. Open 11am to 10pm every day.
StoresKati Roll in Texas
Downtown Dallas on Elm Street since April 2024, and Plano on State Highway 121 since that August. Addresses, hours, and what to order at both.
FranchiseA Second Brand for Restaurant Operators
Already run restaurants? Here is where a Kati Roll fits beside them: a short menu that trains fast, supply from our kitchen and multi-unit agreements.
CateringHow to Order Catering for the Office
Kati rolls are street food a whole room can hold in one hand. How our online catering works, and how to build an order the whole office will eat.
FranchiseWhy We Started Franchising
For years we turned down people who asked to franchise. In 2024 we said yes. Here is why, who our first partners are, and who we look for next.
- Franchise
How We Train and Support Our Partners
What we do before you open, on opening day and after: the site and the build, training, recipes and supply, technology, marketing and operations.
FranchiseOwning a Kati Roll as a First-Time Owner
Never run a restaurant? What we teach, what you bring, and what the months before and after opening ask of a first-time Kati Roll owner.
FranchiseKati Roll Franchise Questions, Answered
Straight answers to the questions owners ask first: cost, territory, site, financing, equipment, supplies, the menu, prices and the term.
FranchiseOwning a Kati Roll With Family or a Partner
Two people started The Kati Roll Company. If you plan to own a store with family or a partner, here are the roles, capital and questions to settle first.
Order ahead
Come get one hot.
Order ahead from the store nearest you, or walk in. Dine in, pick up or get it delivered.
