Roast CCX: Hyderabad’s 60,000 sq ft cafe is brewing scale, culture, and coffee

Every day, close to 4,000 people walk into Roast CCX, a cafe in Hyderabad’s posh locality—Banjara Hills. On weekends, the number spikes to 7,000. 

Across its sprawling 60,000 sq ft footprint spread over four storeys, the cafe serves everything—from artisanal coffee to desserts, biryani, and sushi. It arranges coffee and pastry masterclasses, screens films in its 37-seat private theatre, and hosts groups of 15 in a private dining space for a chef’s table experience. 

For founder Hanumanth Rao Naineni, however, the story is about more than scale. 

Hyderabad has always been synonymous with Irani chai and food culture. But Hanumanth sensed a shift. 

“The coffee scene across India is growing fast, and Hyderabad is definitely part of that shift…People here are curious and open to trying new things. Speciality coffee isn’t just about the drink; it’s about the whole experience—good beans, different brew styles, and places that feel warm and welcoming. We’re seeing more people in the city looking for that. Whether it’s someone trying their first pour-over or someone who already knows their way around coffee, Hyderabad is ready to catch the coffee wave,” he tells YS Life.

The business numbers are a testament to this coffee trend in Hyderabad. The Roast brand, operating cafes Roast CCX, Roast 24 Seven, and Caffeine Capital, generated Rs 65 crore in revenue in FY24 and an EBITDA margin of 20%. 

Last year, Roast CCX itself generated an average monthly revenue of Rs 3 crore. 

Brewing the idea

The inspiration for Roast came from a mix of personal transformation and global exposure.

The idea for Roast took shape when Hanumanth was on a weight loss journey and began turning to coffee as a healthier alternative to energy drinks. 

“During my trips to Italy, especially visits to coffee and pastry exhibitions, I fell in love with all-in-one spaces that effortlessly combined cafe, bakery, and social hub; I wanted to bring that complete experience under one roof in India, where it was largely missing,” he says. 

Hanumanth launched the first edition of Roast, The Caffeine Capital, in HITEC City in Hyderabad just before the pandemic in 2020. “The aspiration was to bring not just a cafe, it was to bring bakery, pastry, gelato and comfort food all together in one place at an international level,” he says. 

This was a natural next step for him, having been in the hospitality industry since 2014—first with Italian food chain Ci Gusta, and later starting his own venture, Halcyon Foods.

“The goal was to build a space that felt warm, inclusive and intentional—a place where people could work, unwind or connect over shared moments. It’s always been about crafting a thoughtful, holistic cafe experience.”

After the 60-seater cafe in HITEC City started seeing a queue outside, Hanumanth opened the 200-seater Roast 24 Seven. “That filled up too, and eventually led to our current 500-seater. Even now, there’s a short wait sometimes, but we usually seat everyone within 10 to 15 minutes,” he says, adding, “It wasn’t about real estate or market dynamics. It was more instinctive, driven by how people responded. The spaces kept growing because the community kept showing up.”

However, he doesn’t plan to go any bigger. The focus now is on opening more compact spaces, with around 50 to 60 covers. 

Beyond coffee

“For us, it was important that it didn’t feel like just another stop for coffee. We wanted it to be a place where you could spend hours, whether you're working on your laptop, catching up with friends, or just enjoying some time alone,” he says.

Design-wise, Roast CCX isn’t the usual minimalist space built to please social media users. The ambience is warm and distinctive. The kitchen, too, is built with global ambitions. 

The menu at Roast CCX features over 200 dishes, ranging from biryani and paneer tikka to sushi, Tangra chilli chicken, and in-house pastas. “We break the stereotype that big menus dilute quality. Instead, we deliver diverse, authentic flavours consistently, across every corner of our expansive culinary experience.”

The cafe also doubles as an experience centre, blending food, events, and education into the coffee narrative. With its coffee lab, pastry workshops, and screening room, the cafe now hosts over 50 curated events annually.

“While Roast CCX initially launched as Hyderabad’s largest cafe… it soon became clear that our guests were craving more than just casual dining. Diverse groups of families, students, professionals, or coffee enthusiasts began seeking exclusive, intimate experiences within our bustling environment,” Hanumanth says. 

In response, the team evolved its model. It created designated private areas like the chef’s table dinners and theatre-style screenings. “These spaces allow guests to host personal or curated events without the hustle and bustle of the main cafe,” he says. 

Roast CCX also hosts workshops and masterclasses. Its in-house coffee and pastry labs offer guided experiences. It also offers niche, invite-only events like private screenings, sushi master classes, and Italian gelato workshops, among others. 

Although these bespoke offerings don’t drastically boost revenue like high-volume cafe sales do, they’ve been vital for sustaining brand engagement and reinforcing Roast CCX as a “coffee and culinary experience”, and not just another cafe, the owner says. 

Despite Hyderabad’s crowded cafe scene, Hanumanth is clear-eyed about Roast’s trajectory.

“Hyderabad, and India broadly, is still very much in a growth phase, and Roast CCX isn’t just unfazed by competition or market saturation locally—we’re already preparing to step into established, ‘saturated’ international markets. Our 60,000 sq ft flagship is designed around one principle: relentless customer-centricity,” he ends.