Do you care for a cuppa?

Bank professional V. Ananthanarayanan’s coffee shop is a huge hit with residents of Duraisamy Street in Ayanavaram

The board ‘Come in for coffee’ is inviting. The aroma of freshly-brewed coffee is tempting.

It is close to 7 a.m. and a few sportsmen practising at a nearby playground are winding up, and soon they will be at Ananthanarayanan's shop for a cuppa.

V. Ananthanarayanan, a banker by profession, started this enterprise in a small way on the porch of his house at Duraisamy Street in Ayanavaram and it quickly developed into a full-fledged coffee shop with good patronage. As the only coffee parlour in the locality with items that are priced with affordability in mind, it has become a popular hangout for residents.

Ananthanarayanan retired from State Bank of India as manager and wanted to engage in some profession independently.

He settled on the idea of setting up a small coffee shop.

“The response was so overwhelming that people wanted me to provide snacks along with coffee,” he says.

Having donned the chef's hat early in life, he effortlessly launched into preparing snacks. Many school children head directly to this shop from school to have these snacks, says Ananthanarayanan.

"I want to earn good name among the local residents more than money. I had to be away from them due to my professional commitments. Preparing food that is to the liking of people gives me happiness. It can be compared to the joy a musician receives when his audience bring the house down with applause. I have enjoyed cooking since childhood. I started cooking early as both my parents were office-goers," he says.

Ananthanarayanan does some of the physical work himself: It includes slicing the vegetables for the cutlets and vadas and running the juicer. He also takes care of the cash counter.

“Our vadai varieties, including masal vadai and medu vadai and bajji varieties such as bread paneer sandwich bajji, pumpkin sandwich bajji and vegetable cutlets have become favourites. Bread sandwich bajji, which is moderately priced, is very popular. I am a self-taught cook, so I keep experimenting. Cooking is absolutely de-stressing,” says Ananthanarayanan.