BENGALURU: As you step out of the last metro station on the Purple Line at Byappanahalli, sip in some hot tea and take a bite of hot vada pav at the “Eatery” at the exit gate of the station. The end of line is raking in good moolah for this outlet.
Goutom Chatterji, the managing partner, says, “Every nine minutes a train arrives, it is like a tsunami has hit the outlet. No one has the time. They just come, order, get their snacks packed and leave to reach office on time. It is a different experience.”
The outlet opened about two months ago. Sujata Chittiapa, another managing partner says, “We studied the station for two months. We observed the crowd that came in. After the connectivity to Mysuru Road, the crowd has increased and it turned out to be better for us.”
The eatery is open from 9 am to 10.30 pm, until the last train arrives.
Goutom claims that the footfall per day is about 1,800 to 2,000. “On week days, there are office goers. On weekends, it is usually less as most of them would be families and those who are on joy rides. We earn about Rs 7-9 lakh a month and we pay a rent to BMRCL of about Rs 1.15 lakh,” he says.
The outlet serves snacks such as vada pav, sandwiches, dahi vada, cakes and hot beverages - tea and coffee.
They would soon be including different varieties of tea too.
Topped with boondi, their dahi vada is as fresh as it can get. Dipped in a sea of curd, the vada is moist and melts in your mouth as soon as you take a bite.
He says, “Our specialities are sandwiches, dahi vada, vada pav and cutlets. There are three Mumbaikaars who come here every weekend to have our vada pav. They say this is the closest to the one they get in Mumbai.” And it truly does tastes like an authentic Mumbai Vada pav.
All items except the bakery confectionaries that includes puff are prepared in batches in their centralised kitchen in C V Raman Nagar, which is just half a kilometre away from the station, he says.
Sujata adds, “We make food in batches of 30. Once, the items get over. We inform the cooks and within half an hour, a new batch arrives. They are also priced reasonably. The bakery items are outsourced from our friend who owns a bakery.”
Sujata adds, “I am also a dietician. I have always been connected to the food industry. We do not pre-mix sugar in our tea or coffee as there might be some customers who are diabetics too. We provide them sugar separately. Some complain about it while some prefer it.”
Particular about the hygiene, Goutom challenges, “You can walk in to our kitchen anytime without any prior notice and see the hygiene we maintain.”
If you are a cheese fan, you should definitely try their tomato and cheese sandwich.