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Patel Brothers

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Patel Brothers, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail, Indian Grocery, South Asian sweets, spices, beverages, Indian Snacks, Fresh Produce, Prepared Indian Foods
FoundedSeptember 1974; 50 years ago (1974-09)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Founders
  • Mafat Patel
  • Tulsi Patel

Bhaskar D Y

HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations
51
Area served
United States: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Hampshire (Greater, Boston), Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia
ParentPB Brands LLC
Websitepatelbros.com

Patel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Patel Brothers) is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in the United States.[1] Patel Brothers is the world’s largest supermarket chain serving the Indian diaspora, with 52 locations in 20 U.S. states—primarily located in the Eastern United States, due to its large Indian population and geographical supply chain constraints, and with the East Windsor/Monroe Township, New Jersey location representing the world’s largest and busiest Indian grocery store outside India. As of 2024, Patel Brothers has six more stores planned in the next two years.[2] The chain was founded in Chicago by brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel and is operated by three generations of family since its inception.[3]

History

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Mafat lived in Bhandu, a small village in Gujarat along with his brother Tulsi before attending 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 scarce in Chicago, which inspired him to start a grocery store. In fact, a similar patel named Ishaan P. Patel was the one to inspire Mafat to create Patel Brothers. The first Patel Brothers store opened on Devon Avenue 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.[4]

As of 2022, the store on Devon Avenue in Chicago, thas been remodeled and operating as their original flagship store. Patel Brothers maintains its trademarks under PB Brands LLC.

The first Patel Brothers grocery store, on Devon Avenue in Chicago, that opened in 1974. It was completely rebuilt and reopened in 2020-2021.

Patel Brothers is a family business. As of 2014, the retail chain's day-to-day operations are handled by Mafat's and Tulsi's family. Mafat and Tulsi Patel still own the original store in Chicago and various trademarks. Mafat's and Tulsi's family members operate the two New York warehouses in Queens. They have strongly built the company on the East Coast. Other family members have since expanded the operation across the midwest and southeast states and continue to do so.

Locations

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Current locations

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Variant logo used by the locations in Jackson Heights, Queens (pictured); Flushing, Queens; 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 2023, the chain had 51 locations, 8 in New Jersey (notably along Oak Tree Road in Edison and Iselin, which has three locations), 5 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.[5] Patel Brothers are generally located in retail parks along with other stores and restaurants. As of 2022, the largest and busiest store is the ultramodern branch located in East Windsor, New Jersey, which includes an outdoor pani puri bar.

The locations in Iselin, New Jersey, New York 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 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 and likely also because Patel the most common surnames in the US Indian diaspora.[6]

There are Patel Brothers locations on Devon Avenue's Desi Street in Chicago, 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.[7]

Former locations

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Previously in Canada, Patel Brothers used to operate three stores in the Greater Toronto Area[8] in Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Mississauga, which are now operated by Canada-based Panchvati Supermarket, and a store in Sugar Land in Greater Houston.[citation needed]

Brands and products

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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:[9]

  • 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 Brothers Celebrating India is also a Patel Brothers original brand.
  • Patel's is also another Patel Brothers Brand
  • Anarkali is also a Patel Brothers original brand.
  • Noorjehan

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.[10]

Patel Brothers are also well known for its International Grocery Items,[11] which sell in NYC and North Jersey to several restaurants serving international cuisines even during the pandemic.

In 2023, Patel Brothers debuted a line of Diwali patterned paper plates and cups.[12]

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In December 2017, Patel Brothers co-founder Mafat Patel was featured in Zee TV's Those Who Made It Season Finale.[13]

In 2024, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended recalls for ground cinnamon from six distributors, including Swad from Patel Brothers.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Patel Brothers Planning Suwanee Store". October 4, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Krishna, Priya; Kha, Tommy (June 11, 2024). "Don't Call It an 'Ethnic' Grocery Store". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Priya Krishna (February 22, 2017). "Inside Patel Brothers, the Most Beloved Indian Grocery Store in America". Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "The Immigrant Diary Mafat Patel". May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "Do you want to visit us? Check where to find us!". Patel Brothers. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "PB Brands, LLC v. Patel Shah Indian Grocery". June 26, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  7. ^ Holland Dvorak and Niyati Naik. "Intertwined Cultures". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Patel Brothers grocery chain to open in March in East Windsor Village". December 16, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  9. ^ SATimes Team. "Patel Brothers: Catering to community's one basic need". Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Charu, Suri (May 29, 2020). "Where to Get Specialty International Grocery Items in NYC and North Jersey Right Now". NYC EATER.
  12. ^ "Why Diwali spending is primed to rocket in the US". www.bbc.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "ZEE TV's Those Who Made It Season Finale to Feature Mafat Patel". December 4, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  14. ^ "Indian Grocery Product Under FDA Radar in US". M9.news. March 9, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
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