The Hindu              04.09.2013

Hygiene, quality attract middle class too

mma canteens or budget canteens were conceptualised for the downtrodden, but the customers are also from middle class on an even keel, say caretakers of the canteens.

It is not just the cost factor — Idlis are sold for Rs. 1, sambar rice for Rs. 5, and curd rice for Rs. 3. The patronage has as much to do with hygiene and quality, according to a caretaker at the Amma canteen in Choolai in Erode city. Not surprisingly, Amma canteens in a total of 10 centres in the city are doing roaring business, though the question of making a profit does not arise at all.

For, going by the prevailing input costs and expenses incurred for overheads, the revenue realised from customers does not cover even 20 per cent of the overall expenditure.

Yet, the sales figures generate interest. Since the date of launch on June 2 till date, the 10 Amma canteens in Erode Corporation have done a business of Rs. 40.94 lakh, according to Corporation sources. In each of the Amma canteen, 1,200 idlies get sold like hot cakes every day.

The 10 budget canteens have together sold nearly 13.18 lakh idlies so far. Likewise, 3.74 lakh units of sambar rice and 3.02 units of curd rice have been sold, the sources said. According to a senior official, the exact extent of loss was difficult to determine since rice was supplied through the civil supplies department at subsidised costs, and groceries were also purchased from Chinthamani. But, vegetables had to be purchased from the open market.

By and large, the feedback from customers is that the quality and taste of food is good, and the ambience is excellent. Their attention has now turned to variety, or rather the lack of it. Their desire is that the proposal to include pongal-sambar in the morning and tamarind rice or curry leaf rice in the afternoon in the menus of the Amma canteens in Chennai must be extended to those in the rest of the nine city corporations simultaneously.

Since inception, 10 canteens in Erode have done a business of Rs. 40.94 lakh.