Vinod Khanna worked for IndianOil and led a happy life with his wife and two kids before he decided to quit his job and set up a factory of pins and clips when he turned 40. The idea was to start something which their son could expand eventually, but as his wife puts it, "Iron does not suit everyone..." and in less than a year they lost their son for whom they had set up the entire unit. The coupl
e also lost their savings in the factory and were under a debt of 2.5 lakh, way back in 1977. Their cafe/restaurant chain Sip 'n' Bite, which today has its outlet in Gurgaon and perhaps stands apart from the rest owing to the 'personal touch' that commercial outlets cannot offer, sprouted from this unfortunate turn in the Khanna's lives. Hailing from Mumbai, the couple was a big fan of a chicken-roll outlet there called Paradise. They decided to open their own paradise in Delhi, with Rs. 350 in hand. While wife Sushma prepared the Chicken Rolls, Vinod would trek everyday to Chanakya Cinema and sell at the cafeteria. He had just one condition: the outlet should sell only fresh rolls brought in in the mornings, and not the ones left over from the previous day. Fortunately, the rolls became a hit and the business, which had started with just a dozen chicken, ham and cheese rolls, expanded to 42 outlets across Delhi. Breakthrough came when Roda Mistry, Chairman of the catering ministry for the Asian Games, spotted the Khannas' ingenious style of making vadas from donuts machine and offered the couple the contract to supply food at Asiad VIllage, Tuglaquabad Shooting Range, Nehru Stadium and Harbakht Stadium during the Asian Games in 1982. Later, from preparing mayonnaise and salads for Wimpy's and De Paul's, to introducing Jumbo Sandwiches in Delhi, their journey has been exceptional. Finally in 1993 the couple set up their own cafe/restaurant Sip 'n' Bite at MG Road. "Ayanagar and Nathupur were two famous robbery spots". It wasn't long before the area became more populated and the Khanna's saw their business booming.