Youngsters dig into Domino’s delights in Ranchi on Monday; (top) a Cafe Coffee Day outlet at Capitol Hill complex. Pictures by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, May 9: The cheesy Italian invasion has not spared Jharkhand, to the utter delight of GeNext.

International food chain Domino’s Pizzas on Ranchi Main Road is the hot drive-in spot for the young and the young-at-heart. It’s the same story in Jamshedpur, where the Bistupur outlet is a byword for entertainment. Now, Domino’s plans to open an outlet in Dhanbad at its Bank More.

But the pizzas and the choco lava cakes came seven years after Cafe Coffee Day (its abbreviation CCD is a popular yo-lingo) first set up shop in 2003 at Capitol Hill shopping complex. After it proved that a lot did happen over coffee, the franchisee opened shop at Purulia Road, Kutchery Road, Circular Road and Sriram Gardens, Kanke Road. A new outlet will be coming up at Hinoo soon.

Pizza Hut might also enter the capital to heat up the pizza war. “Our proposal (to bring in Pizza Hut) is in the pipeline. We are trying our best,” said Glitz Cinema plex owner Anurag Sarawagi.

Youngsters troop into these joints for a normal day out or for parties. “Earlier, it wasn’t possible for us to host parties in big hotels. But now, there is no dearth of places. Domino’s and CCD have solved our problems,” said first-year commerce student of St Xavier’s College, Piyush Kumar.

Satyajit Srivastava, manager of the Main Road Domino’s Pizza outlet said they got an overwhelming response from customers. Srivastava, who graduated from BIT, Mesra, last year after completing his hotel management course, said everyday more than 100 customers, mostly youngsters, frequent this place to savour pizzas and pasta. “The 40-seater place is always occupied,” he beamed.

CCD officials said they were getting “unexpectedly good” response. “Every year, our customer base is growing. We’re coming up with a new outlet at Hinoo very soon,” an official said.

Muscling their way into these mega food brands are small, but equally popular local players.

Snack joint Roll In on Radium Road, non-vegetarian eatery Kathi Kebab on Main Road and Hasty-Tasty on Purulia Road are popular hangout joints. “We get some of the best non-vegetarian items here at nominal rates,” said Ruchi Kumari, a final year student of Ranchi Women’s College (RWC), seen celebrating her birthday at Kathi Kebab today. “We love Hasty-Tasty due to its nominal rates and congenial atmosphere and visit it regularly,” said Neha Singh, a first-year intermediate student of St Xavier’s College.

But if swanky food joints are the haunts of GeNext, old timers still love to smell the coffee at their favourite hub. Madras Coffee House off Radhey Shyam Lane, known for its authentic South Indian delicacies, has a loyal clientele. “We are not smitten by new joints. Madras Coffee House is very close to our hearts,” said government employee Pratik Kumar.