Teja Chekuri is a global restauranter who has set up unique restaurant chains across the world. He is currently the Managing Partner at Ironhill India and holds several board level positions in different companies. After completing his degree in MS – Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Gannon University Teja worked in various startups and IT companies. He started his entrepreneurial journey with technoSecure as the President in 2006 which was later acquired by another company. Soon after he started Vertical Focus Inc in 2010 which is still in operation in the US.

But he kept coming back to food – his first love.

He co-founded the Godavari Group of Restaurants in the US and continued to explore more in the segment. Under this group he launched Madras Dosa Co (Boston ) , 1947 -Truly Indian (Boston) , Vaanga (Boston) and launching an Indian Gastrobar “Don’t Tell Aunty” in Boston along with establishing the flagship brand Godavari in 21 locations (Delaware, Toronto, Tampa , Jersey City, Minneapolis, Orange Country, Atlanta, Columbus, Woburn, Philadelphia, Naperville, Houston, Schaumburg, Kansas, Charlotte, Cincinnati , Edison, Hartford, Herndon, Morrisville and Rhode Island). After having established a robust empire on international shores, he turned his attention to India.

He pioneered the concept of craft beer in India with the launch of Prost in 2012. While it is still charting its own success story, Teja wanted to look at experimenting more with local flavors and create unique mixes with Indian spices that can be added to the brews to bring about an interesting experience for beer connoisseurs. That’s how Ironhill India came about. Since its launch, the brand has established multiple footprints at a rapid pace under his leadership and is still in expansion mode. The Ironhill India group then added several top brands under the two verticals Ironhill Brewery (Ironhill, Prost, Beerish) and Ironhill Hospitality Restaurants and Lounges (Asie, Purple Potato, Pangeo, Pi-Kitchens, Ironhill Café, Anthm).

While that grows into a robust empire, Teja has turned his attention to preserving traditional Telugu recipes from generational kitchens through his South Indian specialty restaurant - United Telugu Kitchens in Vijayawada which saw huge success within the first two quarters and led to two more outlets in Hyderabad. His next and latest launch was “Ishtaa” – a pure vegetarian fine dining restaurant in Hyderabad (2022) which expanded to three locations. Both these brands will now see more franchisees in Hyderabad and beyond.

As the India story becomes stronger, Teja has kept an eye on the international market. His recent acquisition Rosebud (Davis Square, MA) - an American Kitchen & Bar is a down-to-earth restaurant serving modern American fare is an iconic landmark in the neighborhood. His investment will preserve the culture of the famed eatery. Earlier this year, Chekuri acquired nine (9) US Dunkin franchisees this week via their company Golden Horn Group spread across Sharon, Hanover, Weymouth, Braintree, Quincy in Massachusetts, all nine outlets are now owned by the Golden Horn Group and will be operated under OM Network LLC. Launching a retail brand is on the cards soon.

Teja has also moved into the investment space across F&B, Food Tech and FMCG startups through the WeFounderCircle group. His first investment through the cohort – Supplynote has just taken shape. He is keen on creating a supportive community within the industry that nurtures young talent to move to the next level.

Teja’s vision is to keep bringing new concepts of food and beverages to food lovers everywhere. As an entrepreneur, the soft-spoken entrepreneur defines risk taking, creative thinking and action-oriented approach as his key traits that drives him towards success. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, watching adventure movies, and travelling. A curious learner, he is quick to explore new technology and adopt it to ensure seamless business operations. Teja is in his element when he is experimenting and doing research on new product development and ideas to bring in new concepts in the food and beverage industry.