Chaiiwala Opens First Motorway Service Station Format Café
The café represents a new format for Chaiiwala as it continues to expand across high footfall locations
Chaiiwala has announced it has opened a new format container-based café in Watford Gap Roadchef Services on the M1 (Northbound) on Friday, 15 August 2025.
The new 130 sq ft café marks Chaiiwala’s first location at a service motorway station and supports the brand’s strategy to expand the brand through opening diverse formats in high-footfall, on-the-go locations.
The pop-up café will initially be open for three months, introducing Roadchef travellers to a new food offering from August and throughout the autumn.
The new format café will offer all Chaiiwala’s iconic core products as part of a reduced, more focused menu.
Motorway users will be able to choose from a variety of fresh, and authentic dishes at various mealtimes – from breakfast roti wraps in the morning to Bombay Bowls and Toasties throughout the day and indulgent sweet treats. All meals are made with premium and traditional ingredients and based on closely-guarded recipes inspired by Indian home cooking.
Chaiiwala’s world-class Karak chai, which is a daily ritual for consumers across Southeast Asia, will be available.
Ambitious plans
The opening reflects the strength of the Chaiiwala brand and marks the latest milestone in the company’s ambitious plan to scale up to 500 global locations over the next 10 years. This includes expanding its footprint in the UK and Canada with its existing multi-site franchisees and exploring new international markets such as the US. Over the past decade, the brand has grown significantly to operate over 100 cafes in the UK, more than 20 in Canada, and a handful in Dubai.
Sohail Ali, co-founder of Chaiiwala, said: “We’re delighted to announce an exciting new format for Chaiiwala in Watford Gap. The new pop-up concept will provide an opportunity for us to showcase Chaiiwala’s unique and flavourful all-day Indian street food to Roadchef consumers on the go.
"As well as introducing new consumers to the brand and supporting our strategic objective of transforming Chaiiwala into a household name, it enables us to test a new route to market both in service stations and in a flexible, pop-up container format – both of which have the potential to offer exciting growth opportunities. We look forward to welcoming motorway customers for a cup of chai or a bite to eat very soon!”
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