Women-only club set to open on Brigade Road

After running a successful restaurant, Panjury V Shankar is expanding her portfolio with an exclusive space for ladies.

Panjury V Shankar, is the owner of the successful fine dining South Indian restaurant Carnatic. The engineering graduate observed a gap in the hospitality industry a year into the business. 

“There were various interesting concepts in the food and beverage space but nothing that catered exclusively to women,” she says about the inspiration behind her new venture. 

She launched a club called ‘Ms & Mrs’, run by women for women on February 13. Set to open before Women’s Day, the 5,000 square foot space on Brigade Road will have a host of amenities. The space is open exclusively to women and this includes trans women.

With the core concept being that of a restaurant and bar, it will also have a spa and boutique.

The spa will offer services such as foot reflexology, shoulder massage, manicures, pedicures and more. 

The added appeal is that everyone involved in the venture is women. “From the bouncers and bartenders to the marketing head and web designer, everyone on the team is a woman,” says Panjury. 

‘Ms & Mrs’ has also hired a number of house wives as part-time chefs so they have a chance to earn their own income. 

The kitchen has specially curated menus such as ones for menstruating women and pregnant ones. 

They also have a dedicated space selling condoms and birth control pills. Explaining the rationale behind this decision, Panjury says that women are often judged for being sexually active and that buying condoms can sometimes be an awkward exercise. “This initiative is in hopes that creating a non-judgmental space would also help promote safer-sex practices,” she adds. 

The space is open to kitty parties, bachelorette parties, baby showers and other events. There will also be concerts by women, all the DJs too will be women. 

“The space will be open from 12 pm to 1 am, and anyone can drop by at any time to avail any of the amenities,”explains Panjury. 

With a core team of seven women from Bengaluru, Bhutan and even Dubai, they hope that the it will be a place where women come to unwind and have fun without worrying for their safety.