Ever heard of a roadside version of a mocktail? The idea sounds wacky, doesn’t it? But, that is exactly what P. Kumar has acted upon, and going by the response to it, it’s lucrative.
In March, Kumar, who runs K.P.C Fresh Juice Stall on Ormes Road, added what he calls a “roadside version of this otherwise sophisticated drink” to his menu of fresh fruit juices.
Following this addition, more residents of localities in and around Kilpauk have been visiting the stall.
A licensed street vendor, Kumar whips up around 25 varieties of mocktails using exotic fruits like strawberry, mangosteen, blackberry, blueberry, mixed with a spritz of soda or water, and garnished with lemon peels and sprigs of mint.
Before establishing the fresh juice business, Kumar, a resident of Purasawalkam, was selling fruits for 35 years. Monotony set in and he set up K.P.C Fresh Juice Stall. Before long, he started taking party orders for fresh fruit juices and setting up ice gola stalls.
It was at one of the parties that a student broached the idea of having a mocktail stall.
“Frankly, I didn’t know what mocktail was,” reveals Kumar. “I visited several shops in the city to understand the concept of mocktails and finally set up a mocktail stall at VIT University.”
The mocktail stall at the university came into its own, which encouraged Kumar to start serving these virgin cocktails.
“Besides, not many street vendors in Chennai specialise in this form of street juice,” says the new street mixologist.
Served at a separate counter in his stall, the mocktails are preservatives-free.
“Branded syrups and ingredients go into the mocktails. Ice cubes are from R.O. water. I use as many as 20 fruit syrups and four base variants to cater to different tastes.
