Patel Brothers

Patel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Patel Brothers) is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in Hanover Park, Illinois.[2] Patel Brothers is the largest Indian-American supermarket chain in the United States with 57 locations in 19 states, primarily in New York and New Jersey, due to its large Indian population. Patel Brothers offers online shopping for the contiguous US through its website, which is fulfilled by its Hanover Park, Illinois location. The chain was founded by brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel and is operated by Mafat's sons, Swetal and Rakesh Patel.[3][4]

Patel Brothers, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail, Indian snacks, South Asian sweets, spices, beverages
FoundedSeptember 1974 (1974-09)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Founders
  • Krunal Patel
  • Paras Parmar
HeadquartersHanover Park, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations
57
Area served
United States: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Mid-Atlantic,1 North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
Key people
ParentRaja Foods LLC[1]
Websitepatelbros.com
Footnotes / references
1 The Mid-Atlantic region is based on the US Census Bureau definition and includes the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

History

Mafat lived in Bhandu, a small village in Gujarat, India, along with his brother, Tulsi before coming to Indiana University for an MBA in 1968. After finishing his business degree, he moved to Chicago to work as an engineer at Jefferson Electrical Co. Mafat found that Indian groceries were expensive and hard to find in Chicago, which inspired him to start a grocery store. The first Patel Brothers store opened on Devon Street in 1974, and was operated jointly by Mafat, Tulsi and his wife Aruna, the latter two of which had immigrated from India to help with the store.[5]

As of 2017, Patel Brothers has grown into a $140 million chain of stores. On Devon Avenue in Chicago, the street that the first restaurant was opened on, there are many different shops that are part of the Patel Brothers chain: Air Tours Inc., a travel agency; Sahil, a clothing boutique meant for Indian weddings (another location in Iselin, NJ); Patel Bros. Handicrafts and Utensils, which sells religious memorabilia and trinkets; and Patel's Café, an eatery; and Mysore Woodlands, a restaurant.

Patel Brothers maintains its trademarks under PB Brands LLC, which include Dakshin, an Indian restaurant with locations in the Chicago suburbs of Schaumburg and Naperville, Illinois.[6]

The first Patel Brothers, on Devon Avenue in Chicago, that opened in 1974.

Patel Brothers is a family business. The retail chain's day-to-day operations are handled by Mafat's sons Swetal and Rakesh Patel, who also operate the Chicago warehouse in Skokie, Illinois. Mafat and Tulsi Patel still own the original store in Chicago and various trademarks. Tulsi Patel's daughter, Susan Patel owns Patel Bros. Handicrafts and Utensils in Chicago. Mafat's sister's sons Mahendra and Harshad operate the two New York warehouses in Queens. They have strongly built the company in the East Coast. Mafat's nephews Bharat and Jayesh manage the stores in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.[7][8]

Locations

Current locations
Variant logo used by the locations in Flushing, New York; Hyattsville, Maryland; and Waltham, Massachusetts.

After starting out in Chicago, Patel Brothers was a major success with shoppers coming from all over the United States: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Kansas. The retail chain has spread throughout the United States, mainly the Eastern United States. As of April 2018, the chain had 55 locations, 8 in New Jersey (notably along Oak Tree Road in Edison and Iselin, which has three locations), 6 in Texas, 4 in New York, Florida, and Illinois each, and the rest are spread throughout the eastern United States with only two locations in the western United States: one store in Santa Clara near San Jose, California, and a second in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix.[9] Patel Brothers are generally located in retail parks along with other stores and restaurants. The largest store is located in Naperville, Illinois, which includes a restaurant called Patel's Fresh Kitchen.[10] The Naperville and Parlin, New Jersey are built using modern architecture.

The Patel Brothers locations that are farmers markets include:

The locations in Iselin, New Jersey east of the Garden State Parkway, Jersey City, New Jersey, North Brunswick, New Jersey and Ridgeland, Mississippi operate under the cash and carry concept. Several Patel Brothers locations including the McKinney, Texas; Naperville, Illinois; and Monroeville, Pennsylvania stores have green and yellow auto rickshaws near the store to maintain India's cultural identity in America. Some locations go by names other than Patel Brothers: the Ridgeland, Mississippi store operates under the name Patel Grocery and the Manchester, Connecticut store operates under the name Patel Foods. Patel Brothers is not affiliated with the gas station called Patel's Grocery in Homer, Georgia, Shah and Patel Indian Burmese grocery store in Rockville, Maryland, or Patel Foods Indo-Pak grocery store in Overland Park, Kansas. The reason why many Indian grocery stores have similar names to Patel Brothers is that PB Brands, LLC only has trademarks for the names Patel Brothers, Patel's, and Patel's Cash and Carry.[11]

There are Patel Brothers locations on Devon Avenue's Desi Street in Chicago, Mahatma Gandhi District in Houston, India Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, and Patel Plaza (retail park leased by Patel Brothers) in Decatur, Georgia, where they are located in ethnic enclaves known as Little India, next to many other Indian restaurants and stores.[12]

Former locations

Previously in Canada, Patel Brothers used to operate 3 stores in the Greater Toronto Area[13] in Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Mississauga, which are now operated by Canada-based Panchvati Supermarket, and a store in Sugar Land in Greater Houston.

Brands and products
Raja Foods LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryFood distribution
Founded1991 (1991)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Founders
  • Mafat Patel
  • Tulsi Patel
HeadquartersSkokie, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations
5
Websiterajafoods.com

After Mafat and Tulsi Patel started their career as grocers they changed gears toward prepackaged ethnic foods. In 1991, they introduced a variety of authentic foods under the umbrella of Raja Foods LLC, which supplies for 60% of Patel Brothers products. Raja Foods LLC operates under seven brands, three of which are Patel Brothers original brands:[14]

  • SWAD (Best Taste in Town) is an original Patel Brothers brand and is the main brand for Patel Brothers products. SWAD is the largest selling Indian food brand in the USA. Swad (स्वाद) is a Hindi word meaning taste. The main products of the SWAD brand are ghee, oil, lentils, beans, nuts, and spices.
  • Patel's Celebrating India is also a Patel Brothers original brand.
  • Anarkali is also a Patel Brothers original brand.
  • Ching's Secret (Real Chinese...Tasty Chinese)
  • Parle Products
  • Milhaas
  • Noorjehan

Raja Foods LLC has 5 warehouses:

Patel Brothers sells South Asian cuisine including Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi food products. Their products include beverages, canned and packaged goods, condiments, ghee and oil, grains, health and beauty products, instant mix, kitchen products, lentils and beans, ready to eat food, Indian snacks, South Asian sweets, spices, spice blends, and spiritual items.[7]

In December 2017, Patel Brothers co-founder Mafat Patel was featured in Zee TV's Those Who Made It Season Finale.[15]

References
  1. "Naperville's growing Asian population draws new businesses to long-vacant spots". March 31, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. "Patel Brothers Planning Suwanee Store". October 4, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. Mayukh Sen (May 25, 2017). "The Story of Patel Brothers, the Biggest Indian Grocery Store in America". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. Priya Krishna (February 22, 2017). "Inside Patel Brothers, the Most Beloved Indian Grocery Store in America". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. "The Immigrant Diary Mafat Patel". May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  6. "PB BRANDS, LLC Trademarks". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  7. Sanchari Pal (April 7, 2017). "How Two Immigrant Brothers Built a Business Empire That Is Giving America a Taste of Indian Food". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  8. Emily Stone (November 24, 2007). "Chutney, masala paneer and more". Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  9. "Do you want to visit us? Check where to find us!". Patel Brothers. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  10. "Patel Brothers launch their biggest facility in Naperville". April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  11. "PB Brands, LLC v. Patel Shah Indian Grocery". Jun 26, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  12. Holland Dvorak and Niyati Naik. "Intertwined Cultures". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  13. "Patel Brothers grocery chain to open in March in East Windsor Village". December 16, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  14. SATimes Team. "Patel Brothers: Catering to community's one basic need". Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  15. "ZEE TV's Those Who Made It Season Finale to Feature Mafat Patel". December 4, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
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