‘Jannal Kadai’ to ‘Kalathi Rose Milk Shop’: How some of Mylapore’s iconic street foods survived the pandemic

Despite two challenging years, many of the city’s small, but iconic restaurants and vendors are standing strong. We follow a popular food trail to meet the people who fought back

Situated at Arundel Street, Rayar’s Mess is packed with customers when we visit. Established in 1930 and initially started as a café by Srinivasan Rao, it is now managed by his grandson P Kumar.

“We have been here for three generations and our current customers are also the third generation. We grew up with them; they have become our family,” says P Mohan, Kumar’s younger brother. He adds, “This is a small space and small business: we like to keep it that way.”