‘When you cannot find it, make it’

Raja and Indira. Photos: M. Vedhan / The Hindu
Raja and Indira. Photos: M. Vedhan / The Hindu

When they could not find phulkas in their neighbourhood, these chartered accountants began to make them for themselves and others

Did you know over 40 varieties of chapattis are available in Chennai under one roof? Did you know there are over 50 accompaniments to these chapattis? Did you know that Chappatikings, which offers such a plenteous fare, was born out of two people’s desperate search for phulkas.

Two full-time chartered accountants were irked at not getting phulkas in Chennai. They were brought up in North India and could not get over their fondness forphulkas.

And they found out soon that scarcity and craving are the parents of enterprise.

At ChappatiKings. Com / The Hindu
At ChappatiKings. Com / The Hindu

Chapattikings (chapattikings.com) had a difficult birth. From making chapattis at home, employing additional help and then scaling it all up to a full-time commitment — that’s the journey of Chapattikings.

Raja, owner of the enterprise, says at first they offered only chapattis, then they included accompaniments in their offering, then in-house specialities, and then quick bites.

“Today, we draw people to our website because of the variety we offer – all under the same roof,” he says. “Feedback and customer satisfaction are our main concern and that is why we also take customised orders. We do cater to big companies but households are our priority,” he adds. A busy day has them churning out more than 700 chapattis and several side dishes. Besides catering service, they also have run chaat stalls in Annanagar and Korattur.

Indra, the lady behind the eatery, says they supply for a variety of occasions — birthday parties, team lunches and travels.

“Our marketing is by word of mouth. In fact, we rely only on that and nothing else,” says Raja.

He says every month they review the menu, going though the customer interaction register, and a couple of items to the menu. It’s six years since we started and recently, we started our standalone unit in Annananagar due to increasing demand. We hope to turn it into a dine-in too, ” he adds. Chappatikings is located at 973, 38th Street, Korattur, near Nagavalli Amman Temple.

Phone: 9383840003

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / by Archana Subramanian / February 21st, 2015