Sri Rangappa Pandurang Kamat, born on 21st May, 1919 in Bengre village near Murudeshwar, Karnataka; was the son of an agriculturist. He moved to Hubli at a tender age of Six and studied up to 3rd standard in Kannada medium school with the support of his elder brother Sri Subbrai Kamat. To support his large family in dire financial condition, he joined his elder brother for work at a small eatery called as Brahman Coffee Club in Hubli Town. This was his first Foray into Food/Restaurant Industry, he learnt the nitty gritty of the trade by working in all departments like F&B production, F & B service, Purchasing, Accounting, Customer Relation Management and other practical aspects of this industry. With his astute sense, courage and intelligence at a very tender age of 19, he established his first Restaurant called as ‘Vasant Bhavan’ in the year 1938. A decade of learning in managing his own Restaurant and his exposure of travel to cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, he developed a vision to establish his first branded Restaurant – Kamat Restaurant at Broadway , Hubli in the year 1948 with an investment of Rs.8,000/- , to differentiate from competition, his USP was to offer high quality and variety food items in trendy and comfortable furniture, stainless steel and bone china crockery, stainless steel kitchen equipments, staff in clean uniforms and warm service to the customers thus an Empire of a popular Restaurant chain ‘KAMAT’ was born. Over the years he added variety of foods from different parts of India and was also the first to introduce Ice-creams to common man in Hubli in 1956. Knowing the pain of poverty and unemployment, he set on a mission to expand his chain of Restaurants which is a Labour Intensive Industry, to create employment for the poor and uneducated in the society, he faced many challenges in his endeavours, since financial assistance from Banks and other institutions were not available to this industry, he developed an asset light model for his expansions by opening branches on leased properties which continues till date. He understood the importance of branding and uniformity in standards, hence he expanded his chain of Restaurants with uniformity in ambience, efficient service, hygienically prepared quality and variety food at value for money pricing. His organisation followed efficient Labour Welfare Measures and Policies which was instrumental in developing and successfully establishing the largest chain of Restaurant across 4 states in South India namely Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa. Sri Rangappa Pandurang Kamat emerged as a legend in the Restaurant industry in India. He was a man with strong instincts, indomitable will, futuristic vision, shrewd business acumen and a burning passion for Restaurant industry. He was best known among his peers for his kindness, compassion and generosity with unassuming nature and simplicity in living. He guided his juniors and the next generation in the industry to think big, think differently, think fast and think ahead, He often quoted that “hygiene was aim, guest satisfaction was fame, discipline was game”. He lead a fulfilling life and was able to give a lot more to society than what he got from it through his services. He left for heavenly abode on 11.07.1993 leaving behind a lasting legacy.