VM Food Street on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) has emerged as a vibrant night destination for college students, information technology professionals and food enthusiasts.
With an array of shops opening till noon and offering diverse menus till late night, this food street is establishing itself as the prime destination for those who want to taste culinary delights.
The first outlet on this road, which is in Kamaraj Nagar, Semmancheri, is Crispy Chicken World, run by Udayakumar A. It opened just two weeks ago. “During my school and college years, I worked at McDonald’s – first part-time and then full-time. It was during this time that I discovered my passion for the food business,” he says.
Udayakumar says customers at his outlet especially enjoy the Bucket Chicken and Crispy Chicken. He emphasizes that its unique ‘masala’ and affordable prices are suitable for students. The second outlet, The Burger Joint, opened 15 days ago. Owner Surya Prakash says that due to the presence of four colleges in this area, the number of people coming here is increasing.
He says the students who come with him request pasta, burgers and pizza.
A few meters away is Papino Ice, which started its operations a month ago. This outlet offers a variety of ice creams, including coconut, jackfruit and dry fruits. According to owner Shivamani R, the outlet is open from 11 am to 11 pm and closes an hour before midnight on weekends.
Another charming spot is Conical Gouffres which specializes in waffles. A representative for this outlet highlighted its unique offering: “We have stick waffles similar to ice cream bars.”
Those running this food street say that the demand for food here is very high. There are more than 200 women’s hostels and paying guest houses in the OMR area. Apart from these, there are also havelis in which the men live. Mr. Udayakumar says, everyone living in hostels and mansions goes out to eat. The OMR belt is home to many information technology companies and start-ups that provide employment to thousands of individuals, many of whom work at night. And these employees go out for breakfast at night.
On Monday night, Chandru, who works at a tech company in the area, went to Food Street with friends for dinner. He says the price of food at VM Food Street is reasonable compared to his company’s cafeteria. Chandru also says that people often gather till late night to play carrom and chess.
Another entrepreneur says that once the metro rail construction is completed, more people will come to these food courts. At present, there is high traffic congestion due to the metro rail project. He further said, therefore, many people are not willing to move to this sector.
