FHV/FHVT 612 - Walter Roller GmbH & Co.

Mumbai gets India’s first Ice Bar
Going to a bar in Mumbai no longer has to be about getting bitten by
mosquitoes or perspiring. Now you can sit in a room made of ice, drink
from an ice glass at an ice bar, decorated with ice carvings on an ice
chair.
India’s first permanent bar made of ice, 21 Fahrenheit, has opened up in
Oshiwara, just yards from the Mega Mall. The bar is kept at minus 6
degrees Celsius all year round. Evaporator FHVT 612 (5 pcs.) from
company Walter Roller GmbH & Co. in Gerlingen, Germany.
Guests are given a navy blue furry Parka coat, insulated moon boots and
gloves to wear before entering. A bartender in a similar coat serves
guests, while house and hip-hop music plays.
21 Fahrenheit was created by three Indian partners, Vaibhav Tandel,
Aalok Purohit, and Harshan Dharmadas.
All three previously managed the Chill Out Ice Bar in Dubai, which was
opened in 2007, by the Sharaf Group. They have now quit and started
their own hospitality business, Hyacinth Lifestyle, in Mumbai.
Vaibhav Tandel, CEO, Hyacinth Lifestyle, is a Mumbaikar, who had moved
to Dubai five years ago.

FHV/FHVT 612 with special painting (black)
He used the expertise he gained there to build the bar here, leading the
team of seven Indian staff who spent 20 days building the lounge bar,
after renting, what had been a vacant space.
It was due to open several weeks ago but kept getting delayed because
the coats and boots, tailor-made in India, had not arrived.

Cosy environment
The 820 square foot bar holds 45 people.
“We only expect people to stay inside for 30 minutes. The bartenders also
rotate. Ice bars have to be small so people feel cosy inside them. Huge ice
bars have failed so far,” Tandel admits. “Often ice bars open for three or
four months and then they close down because it’s just a gimmick. It’s
very important to make sure that doesn’t happen. But we will change the
interiors every three to six months. The whole beauty of ice is that you
can do that. And our service will be second to none. We want people to
remember it.”
Ice bars already exist in other countries, but apart from serving drinks,
this bar is unique because it also serves hot food — and some of the food
is served flambéed.

The bar is lit up with red and blue lights giving it a jazzy vibe. And far
from being just an ice bar, there’s also a general bar outside, and above
it, there’s a swish modern pan Asian restaurant, which seats 46 people.
The restaurant has a live kitchen serving Japanese, Sichuan Chinese and
Lucknowi cuisine, with smart wooden tables and chairs.
“The idea is to give people somewhere to spend the whole evening so they
don’t just spend 30 minutes in the ice bar and leave,” Tandal adds, who
expects the ice bar to be an instant hit with the college crowd and
tourists.
Tandel admits ice bars can lead to soaring electricity bills, but says the
system he has chosen is “energy efficient”. He adds, “In case there is a
power cut, we have a backup generator and besides, it takes three to four
days for the ice to melt.”

Swen Balzer
Export Sales Director
Walter Roller GmbH &Co., Germany