Anna Nagar, a quaint, planned neighbourhood, was gradually going commercial for two decades; but after the Metro chugged in, business suffered. However, after COVID-19, it has become a heaven for foodies. The Second Avenue, the arterial road that runs through this once residential colony, has become the food street visited by lakhs of people every month. Till a decade ago, the locality, developed during the 1970s by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board and named after former Chief Minister C.N. Anna Durai, was known for its broad arterial roads and extensive green cover in its interior lanes.
A serene locality once
It was a serene locality that fell silent by nightfall. The few vehicles that plied during the nights were from IT companies, business process outsourcing offices and micro, small and medium enterprises in the vicinity. But getting parking space at midnight has become a tough task now as the road is bustling with activity until 4 a.m. From food to fun-filled activities, the night life here is getting bigger each day.
Kora Food Street attracts around 10,000 visitors on weekends. “On an average, we have over 1.8 lakh people visiting our food street every month,” said Rajasekhar Kora, managing director of Kora Food Street, one of the vibrant spaces in this area. Given the demand in this locality, Kora Food Street is considering expansion. “We are coming up with a 400-seater luxury fine dining space, called Kora Luxe. Work will begin in a month and we intend to finish it by the year-end,” he said.
While Kora Food Street remains the main food zone, several vendors from neighbouring areas, like Kolathur and Perambur, have put up makeshift shops, selling biriyani, beverages and snacks at night hours. Small eateries here say that on an average, they get 300-500 customers each on weekdays, and the number doubles on weekends. Aslam, an employee of a popular biriyani joint near the Blue Star signal, said piping hot biriyani, brought in large vessels transported in small vans, get sold within hours. While the outlet sells up to 180 kg of biriyani on weekdays between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., nearly 500 kg of biriyani is sold at weekends. K. Mahendran, who runs an outlet called Pot Boy Biriyani, said people flock his outlet because it is open all night and the biriyani is cooked in a mud pot with firewood. “It takes 45 minutes to cook a pot of biriyani, but people from all parts of Chennai come here to taste it,” he said.
Chefs turn entrepreneurs
Going by the crowd, many chefs who worked in branded outlets have started their own business here. Among them is Antony Sujin. He has started a brand, called Zigang, on Kora Food Street. “I have been working as a chef since 2018, and looking at the business potential here, I have started my own business,” he said. He also pointed out that Anna Nagar is one area where a lot of families and women come out at night to these food joints as the locality is quite safe.
One can also spot shops on vehicles. V. Karthik of Naduvankarai sells rose milk on his scooter. He has 100 customers daily. Even as restaurants, including those in front of Metro stations, on Second Avenue were making a brisk business, several makeshift food joints have disappeared from the roadside because of the police restrictions. At least a dozen vehicles sold biriyani at Rountana. But some of them were removed because of heavy traffic.
Apart from food, the place outside Metro stations turns lively at night with amateur music bands trying it out in the open. Dhoom Tha Tha, a music band formed with a mix of students and professionals, practises every night near a tea shop at the Tower Park station. What started as a two-member team, with Britto David and Nithesh, has grown to 30 members.
Not mere fun
“We sing songs from different languages and practise here after tea from 7 p.m. till midnight. We perform at Tower Park on weekends,” said Britto. It is not just fun alone for these youngsters who are aspiring independent musicians. “We have joined hands with the police and performed to highlight social issues, including tobacco and drug abuse,” said Nithesh.
Long-time residents recall that traffic flow used to thin by 8 p.m. on Second Avenue, which is at the heart of Anna Nagar, linking neighbouring localities. The road has undergone a sea change, especially after the arrival of Metro Rail and COVID-19.
Sandhya Vedullapalli, an Anna Nagar resident of over four decades, recalls the late 1990s and early 2000s when walking was an ordeal on the dimly lit Second Avenue and other arterial roads. “I used to fear walking under dark shadows of trees from the bus stop to home. Bungalows and residential buildings gave way to commercial complexes and brand showrooms in the early 2000s. But Second Avenue turned chaotic when Metro work started and commercial establishments were severely hit,” she said.
The trade has turned around after COVID-19. Now, the road is teeming with people, even in the early hours of weekdays as many food joints are open from dusk to dawn. “It’s more like a ‘mela’ every night. Our family has never had enough exploring Kora Food Street and other outlets on Second Avenue,” said Ms. Vedullapalli.
Julie Vinod never fails to visit the area whenever she is on vacation from Dubai. “We chanced upon this place after a late-night trip. We love exploring this place with diverse cuisine like Japanese and Burmese. But there are times when we return with a beverage when it gets crowded,” she said. Ananya Chandrasekar works in a private company at Ambattur. She comes to the food street with her friends after her shift which ends at 2 a.m. “The cost is very reasonable at most of the shops and there are plenty of options to pick from. This zone is also secure with CCTVs and police patrols. Chennai should have zones like this at various localities,” she said.
For foodies looking for an array of options, Anna Nagar is the hotspot, especially at night.
