Asha Jhaveri of Mumbai’s Swati Snacks no more. A look at the iconic eatery
The force behind Mumbai’s famous Swati Snacks, Ashaben Jhaveri, is no more. She passed away at the age of 79 after a prolonged illness in Mumbai.
Asha was the daughter of Meenakshi Jhaveri, who founded the eatery in 1963. She assumed leadership in 1979 and transformed it into a culinary institution celebrated for homestyle Gujarati, Marwari and Maharashtrian dishes.
The restaurant, which currently has four outlets in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, began with four tables in a 110-sq-ft space. At the time, it served just 10 items, including bhel puri, dahi batata puri, ragda pattice, and hand-churned ice cream.
Swati is not just a regular eatery, it is often frequented by some of the most famous people. Some of its patrons include business mogul Mukesh Ambani, late painter MF Hussain and even tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Mukesh Ambani has admitted that the eatery is one of his favourite spots for Gujarati food in the city. According to the autobiography of Jhaveri present at the restaurant, the industrialist wrote, “We are three generations of the Ambani family who cannot live without ordering from Swati Snacks every week.”
Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was present in Mumbai for the launch of the Apple Store,was seen enjoying a vada pav at the restaurant with Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit.
Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan is also known to have a fondness for traditional Indian food and has reportedly enjoyed Swati Snacks’ offerings.