Where everybody knows your name: Why Chennai pubs and cafes are building fraternities to buttress their image

After almost two pandemic years, cafes and pubs in Chennai are going beyond inventive menus to retain customers, by fostering communities with weekend activities, curated services and banding behind a cause

Arjun Mohan has stories to tell — real life stories, of strangers in the city becoming best friends, of self-professed experts humbled by happy amateurs, of revelry and camaraderie. Having organised regular pub quizzes — among other things — in multiple cities for over a decade, he is a staunch witness to the community-building power a local pub can possess, should it choose to.

In Chennai, he has been hosting the Thursday night pub quiz at Watson’s, T Nagar, since 2018. “I used to conduct them in Bangalore, and when I moved to Chennai, Watson’s gave me the go-ahead to do it here as well,” he says. And so, he has, for every Thursday barring flood or pandemic, with a community of quizzers that has only grown more faithful post-lockdown.