The good ol� kathi rolls and kebab-parathas, hot and crisp, or the firnis, sweet and refrigerated, but served by bearers in starched livery, coloured caps and nagras, with a computerised bill to boot �not to mention a world-cuisine food court next door.

Nizam�s, which gave Calcutta its trademark �roll�, is set to simmer its giant tawa again after a 29-month closure. The vintage kebab-paratha outlet, set up by Sheikh Hassan Raza in 1932, and named after son Sheikh Nizamuddin, was shut down on August 11, 2003, following a wildcat strike by a section of workers over payment of wages.

Then, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation locked up the premises, citing pile-up of civic dues. �We have settled the matter out of court, thanks to the support of the mayor and his colleagues, and we hope to reopen the restaurant in two weeks� time,� Mehboob Bobby Irshad, eldest son of owner Irshad Alam, told Metro from Jamshedpur on Tuesday.

The management has deposited a sum of Rs 5 lakh with the civic body against arrears, obtaining permission to �renovate and reopen the establishment�.

The face-off with the staff union, now owing allegiance mostly to Citu, has also been �amicably resolved�, according to the owners. �Of the 125-odd old employees, we will retrench some and absorb the rest,� says Bobby, great grandson of founder Hassan Raza.

While the seating capacity of the resurrected Nizam�s will be whittled down from 350 to 300 for �extra comfort�, the management is planning to introduce LAN connectivity on the premises for accounting, billing and stocktaking. The staff will get attractive uniforms and the kitchen will be completely overhauled with a live food counter.

�We will also set up a food court on a 1,000-sq-ft space we have adjacent to the restaurant, opposite Chaplin theatre. The 40 to 50-seater food court will serve Lebanese, Turkish, Mexican and Kashmiri delicacies, with a stress on vegetarian fare, in a nice clean ambience at pocket-friendly rates,� promises Bobby, who had ventured into outdoor catering during the idle window.