Anna Nagar's culinary boom: A heaven for young restaurateurs amidst challenges and opportunities

CHENNAI: From early-morning filter coffee to late-night biryani, Anna Nagar offers options for everyone. With restaurants, cafes, pushcarts, and a food street, this bustling neighbourhood has become popular for many young people looking to enter the culinary world.

“When the lockdown eased, over 300 cloud kitchens registered in and around the city. Many of these turned into small pop-up stalls and street food carts. However, a lack of understanding of how the food and beverage industry works led to many eateries shutting down within a year of operations,” says Kishore Tadikamalla, founder of Mixology Studio, a food consulting agency. But why Anna Nagar?

Jignesh Pujara, the founder of Ekolyfe and Soul Garden in Kilpauk and Alwarpet, chose Anna Nagar to set up his next venture, Jiiggys. “Anna Nagar seems to have a huge market for affordable food options. There are many educational institutions in and around Anna Nagar. Most importantly, diners here cater to surrounding neighbourhoods like Thirumangalam, Mogappair, Aminjikarai and Arumbakkam. Anna Nagar has become a mini city and huge when compared to other areas. And, when it comes to food, there is never a saturation point in Anna Nagar,” shares Jignesh.

Lingeshwaran, who started with a kiosk, built his café and has now expanded it through multiple franchises across the city, feels that Anna Nagar is growing not only in terms of food but in every aspect. “It has become a shopping hub in the past decade. I cannot open a coffee shop in Purasawalkam or Mogappair and set the price at Rs 150. Anna Nagar is the best place, where people throng the streets for quality food at reasonable prices,” he explains. “The neighbourhood is attracting more people because of its operating hours and wide range of options,” adds Kishore.

When we spoke to Arun from Glow Cafe in Nungambakkam about the difference in the type of crowd between both areas, he elucidates, “Nungambakkam attracts elite crowd, whereas Anna Nagar has the potential to draw people from all age and economic groups.” He started his cafe at Nungambakkam a year ago as it is in the heart of the city. “At that time, south Indian restaurants were doing great in Anna Nagar compared to cafes. But the situation is changing and there is a boom. We are also in plans to open our franchise at the ever-happening locality,” he adds.

Apart from the crowd, running a restaurant or cafe highly depends upon the operational cost. “Compared to Anna Nagar, rents and investments are high in Nungambakkam. The ongoing metro train works are also affecting the business to a large extent. We can build a loyal customer base in Anna Nagar with good quality food. But in Nungambakkam, we have to concentrate on the Instagrammable ambience to attract the young footprints,” Arun states. But Lingeshwaran has a contradicting point concerning rent. “The rent in Anna Nagar is surging even in interior parts of the area,” contradicts the founder of Double Quote Coffee Space and an IT professional. Kishore claims that Chamiers Road, Mount Road and ECR (Good conceptual diners) are the most sought-after places, next to Anna Nagar.

We could see a lot of youngsters getting into this business. What could be the possible reason for them to take such huge risks? “They are getting attracted to quick money and moved into a segment of small-scale eateries,” shares Kishore. “This is an easy-to-do business and anyone passionate about food with good investment can step in. But the risks are equally high,” adds 32-year-old Arun. Lingeshwaran says that fancy social media reels about eateries are highly influencing young minds. “The common rule in the industry is that 90 per cent of the food business will fail. Youngsters can think differently and focus on other businesses related to the F&B industry like the manufacturing of cups, plates and dealing of raw materials. Thorough groundwork is crucial and people are unaware of the reality,” he reflects.

Though there is a rise in the number of diners in Anna Nagar, there is also a considerable number of closures. “Popping up of new places could be one of the reasons for the closures. The customers will be distributed and we cannot earn the desired profit. To overcome this, people should keep on reinventing the menu and offer something new,” Jignesh states.

“Youngsters earn in a small scale business like push carts or kiosks and open a restaurant or cafe. The moment they peek into the next segment, dynamics completely change such as rent, licenses, salaries, running costs, and an uncountable number of expenses that show up. The business suffers, and many wrong decisions are made in the process of being in tough and tight situations. This eventually leads to the shutdown of the business,” says Kishore, who gives a picture of the reality.

There are a lot of challenges for young restaurateurs to tackle and successfully run their diners. “Manpower is the biggest issue which many restaurants in Chennai are facing. Order aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy are ruling the industry completely. We are paying a lot to them from our profit margin. Earning a loyal customer base is also an issue because of the growing competition and choices. From 100 per cent, we get only 10 per cent of the repeated customers. That itself is a lot,” Arun tells DT Next.

Giving us insights about the initial investments and plans before starting a diner, Kishore explains, “It will take at least Rs 1.5 crore to start the eatery in a good space. Market analysis and understanding of the neighbourhood is a must. To sustain, quality customer service, the right hospitality, and the best quality food are essential. The first six months of the business will be exhausting. But a never giving up attitude and spontaneous decisions will help to survive long.”