Ep 41 - Subramanya Holla | 100 Yrs of Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan | Pete Areas & Bengaluru's Food Soul

What does it take to keep a restaurant alive for 100 years in the same building, under the same name, in the same family? Subramanya Holla of Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan in Balepete, Bangalore, has the answer — and it has nothing to do with reinvention. It has everything to do with roots. In this deeply personal and layered conversation on jimmyjimmytheshow, Subramanya Holla — third-generation custodian of one of Bengaluru's most iconic Udupi restaurants — takes us through a century of flavour, memory, and the old city's soul. From the narrow, storied lanes of Balepete and Chikpete to the chaotic charm of Mamoolpete, Sultanpete, and the wholesale paper bazaars of Sultanpete, this is Bangalore as most new Bangaloreans have never seen it. We go deep into what made old Bengaluru tick — the 5:30 AM restaurant openings to serve city market traders, the buses parked on roads before Majestic had a bus stand, the 20-plus single-screen theatres along Brigade Road that are all now gone. We talk about the Karaga Festival — the real one, not the hasi karaga — and how it used to wind through Tilakapete, past Subramanya Holla's own restaurant in Balepete, past the Mastan Sahib Dargah, all the way to Gavipuram, drawing thousands of people who'd sleep on streets and watch bhuvithyatra through the night. All of that is now a memory. Subramanya Holla talks candidly about the Udupi food philosophy — why jaggery goes into everything, why the chutney at Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan has never had garlic or onion, how the double-flipped dosa became a signature that even he can't trace back to a single decision, and why Karnataka sambar will always beat Tamil sambar on his palate. He shares why Tajmahal Hotel brought hygiene to Bangalore's restaurant industry and why Rameshwaram Cafe changed the pricing game. He also opens up about the night Dr Rajkumar died — riots in Bangalore, his office complex near the actor's home smashed, and a radio station that had to delay its launch. He spoke about watching Rajkumar outside Janardhan Hotel in Majestic at age 18, almost every single day. He reflects on COVID shutting his doors for the first time in the restaurant's history, on the garbage crisis crippling the hotel industry, and on his long-standing demand — as President of the Bruhad Bangalore Hotels Association — for 24/7 restaurant permissions in Bangalore's CBD areas. And then he talks about what Bangalore means to him. Just one word. Home. This is not just a food conversation. This is a living archive of Bengaluru — KR Market, Chikpete, Majestic, Balepete, the Sunday Bazaar, the Sugriva temple that almost no one knows exists right next to his restaurant, and the Chiklalbagh that hides in plain sight at the Majestic Metro exit. It is Udupi culture meeting Bangalore grit, across 100 years. ⏱️ Peak Bengaluru Moments 🕔 The restaurant used to open at 5:30 AM to feed city market traders arriving by bus 🎭 Brigade Road once had 15 single-screen theatres — all gone 🏟️ Majestic was built on a lake — and most people have no idea 🌸 The Karaga Festival used to draw people from neighbouring villages who slept on the streets ☕ The By Two coffee culture? Started right here in Bangalore, Karnataka 🍛 Until the late 1980s, Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan didn't even serve rice 🎙️ Radio Indigo's launch day coincided with the day Rajkumar passed away 🧾 Sultanpete wedding invitation market: walk in, finalise, pick up the same evening 🛕 A Sugriva temple — one of very few in India — sits next to the restaurant, unknown to most 📍 Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan | Balepete, Bangalore 🎙️ jimmyjimmytheshow | Podcast & YouTube Subscribe for more Bengaluru stories that deserve to be heard. Timestamps 0:00 — Intro: 100 Years, Same Building, Same Family | Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan, Balepete, Bengaluru 1:58 — Growing Up Behind the Restaurant | Life, Labour & Lessons in Old Bengaluru 3:42 — Opening at 5:30 AM for KR Market Traders | How Balepete Ran on Bangalore's Pulse 4:55 — The Dosa, The Flip & By two culture | Secrets of the Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan Menu 6:27 — No Garlic, No Onion, No Compromise | The Chutney Philosophy & Udupi Food Tradition 7:39 — Karnataka Sambar vs Tamil Sambar | The Great Bengaluru Breakfast Debate 9:23 — Taj Mahal Hotel, Rameshwaram Cafe & What Changed Bangalore's Restaurant Industry 10:51 — If Kempegowda Walked In Today | A 22-Item Udupi Feast on a Plantain Leaf 12:53 — Majestic, Brigade Road & 15 Single-Screen Theatres That Bengaluru Lost Forever 15:14 — Dr Rajkumar, Radio Indigo's Unlucky Launch Day & The Night Bengaluru Burned 19:37 — The Chikpete Sunday Bazaar, Sultanpete Wedding Cards & the Hidden Sugriva Temple 20:55 — The Real Karaga Festival, COVID's Shutdown & Why Bengaluru Needs 24/7 Restaurants