A large number of loyal customers throng the store regularly to enjoy an assortment of the best South Indian style chaat items.
Though people prefer chaats as a light snack, they don’t mind going miles to get their favourite one. And this is what happens with the customers of ‘Shivas Chaats’ as well. People drive here from places like Kumaraswamy Layout, Girinagar and N R Colony to savour the limited offerings of this place like masala puri, bhel puri, sev puri, aloo dahi puri and pani puri.
The tiny joint has been serving only these items between 5 pm and 9 pm for the last 15 years. The place is the brainchild of Rajkumar, a disciplined entrepreneur who gives utmost importance to quality and hygiene than taste.
“We prepare all the ingredients like sev, puri and om pudi using the best quality oil. Even the water we use for preparing the chaats are clinically tested in the laboratories. For the customers, we provide purified drinking water. Daily, we prepare a fixed quantity and keep the shop open till everything is sold out. Thanks to our loyal customers, nothing remains at the end of the day and we prepare fresh items the next day,” he says.
The place is so popular among chaat lovers that one of its customers has created a fan club on Orkut, which has got a good fan base. Everyday, people wait in front of the shop before it opens to avoid rush.
As the place has no seating facility and customers encroach the footpath and the road in front of it, a person has been appointed to control traffic during rush hours.
“I come here at least once a week to have masala puri and bhel puri. My father doesn’t like me eating outside. But he doesn’t have any issue with this place due to the quality and hygienic food available here,” says Apoorva H V, a student of Global Academy of Technology. Sabrish, a corporate law consultant, is a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout and comes almost every day to Hanumanthnagar just to have chaats from this eatery.
“I have been a regular at this place for the last ten years. I don’t find the same taste anywhere else. Their expertise in blending diverse flavours and quality ingredients makes all the difference. And their service is very quick too,” he says. ‘Shivas Chaats’ is located near Nirmala Store Bus Stop on 50 Feet Road, opposite to Kaggies Bakery and is open on all days except Wednesday. For details, call 9980071194.