The year: 1999; Opening scene: Sheik Dawood hops onto his bicycle and pedals for about 14 km from his house in Maduravoyal all the way to TTK Road, to sell sandwiches from a bunk shop. It’s just bread and jam, vegetable sandwich and bread omelette at the time.
Fast-forward to 2016. The bunk shop has now become “Royal Sandwich” on TTK road. It has spread its roots far and wide to four branches and 18 franchises. Feels like a perfect rags-to-riches story, doesn’t it? But if you have a family who has a history of working hard, dividends are expected.
Let’s rewind 25 years. Dawood’s family had come to Chennai from Madurai in 1991 and his father had worked in a juice shop. When Dawood started in 1999, his daily earnings were just Rs. 150. “Of this, Rs. 50 would go towards daily shop rent. With another Rs. 50, I would buy the next day’s supplies. And Rs. 5 was needed to maintain the bicycle — effectively I went home with just Rs. 45 a day,” he reminisces.
Then the IT boom came along. And this meant booming business for Dawood too. “IT people preferred quick eats like this. If you go to a hotel, it takes about 10-15 minutes to get your dosa. Sandwiches are ready in a jiffy. And you know how the IT crowd is…everything has to be done ASAP,” he laughs.
It is the interest shown by these customers that got him to experiment. “I wanted to try out new sandwiches that were healthy too. How do you make keerai appealing? Add some corn, pep it up with masala, stick it between two bread slices, and it becomes more palatable, doesn’t it?” he asks.
How Royal Got its Name
There used to be a department store opposite the sandwich shop called ‘Royal Shoppe’ and people started calling Dawood’s outlet ‘The place opposite Royal’. And so Dawood stuck with the same name.
Feed the Poor
Royal has a noble initiative – it’s called a ‘poor sandwich’. You can donate money enough for just one sandwich, but Royal ensures that your sandwich reaches the needy. And Dawood says people on the streets too have desires to eat sandwiches. Kakka Muttai style!
Chicken on Demand
The most in-demand items, says Dawood, are those with chicken in them. These are followed by paneer and corn
There are quite a few things that Royal Sandwich has going for itself. First, high quality at low cost. “We use only home-made masala — I learnt the recipe from my mom. And we don’t use frozen food. Each day’s stock is fresh,” he says.
Second, the number of permutations and combinations are midboggling! There are 143 varieties, including whacky combinations like vada-curry cheese toast and chocolate cheese toast. “A student can come here with just `100, eat his or her fill of two sandwiches, and drink a glass of juice,” says Dawood.
As if on cue, Meenakshi and Janani, two school students, enter the shop and place their orders. “The ice cream sandwiches are wonderful, I’ve never had anything like them,” gushes Meenakshi. “We don’t have to wait for a long time, and the sandwiches are really filling,” adds Janani.
“The customers, who come to our shop, must leave satisfied — that’s my motto,” says Dawood. And boy, has he nailed it!
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