Daily grind proves costly, PU’s iconic Coffee House closed again
The South Indian Coffee House, as it was known since its inception in 1975, had first closed in 2019 owing to losses
Just a year-and-a-half after it reopened, the iconic Coffee House at Panjab University has downed its shutters again. Reason: High rent and low footfall.

The South Indian Coffee House, as it was known since its inception in 1975, had first closed in 2019 owing to losses. Attempts were made to revive it in 2020, but it remained unsuccessful due to the prevailing pandemic. It finally reopened in July 2023 after the tender was allotted to Colonel RK Bawa, who rechristened it as Colonel’s Coffee House and expanded the menu to including delicacies such as paneer tikka, cholle bhature, aloo parantha, vegetable biryani, aloo tikki, bhelpuri, popcorn, burritos and pasta along with the usual south Indian fare. But despite that, it received a lukewarm response, and the high rent of ₹1 lakh a month turned it into a loss-making venture.
“The rent was too high, and the footfall was disappointing, especially in winters when students would prefer to get food and hot beverages from the eateries close to the lawns so that they could soak up the sun,” revealed Col Bawa, who had been given the space on lease for a period of five years. As of January 1, the premises has been emptied.
Flavour lost, claim students
Students, meanwhile, claimed that the food at the Coffee House had lost its flavour after it reopened.
“The Indian Coffee house has a rich cultural heritage which goes back to pre-independence India and the revolt against the British. When the coffee house reopened here in 2023, all traces of the original coffee house had been removed. The feeling of nostalgia was gone, and the food also wasn’t great either,” said Divyansh Thakur, a research scholar at PU.
Meanwhile, vice-chancellor Prof Renu Vig said a fresh tender for the space will be floated soon. She added that the varsity is exploring the possibility of running a food-court style system with multiple eateries here.
In its nearly year-and-a-half term, the Colonel’s Coffee House had run into multiple controversies, including reports that non-vegetarian items were served in violation of the tender.
