After completing his master’s in peacekeeping, S Manoharan decided to start his own food business in Chennai, his parents were shocked and advised him against it as they didn’t want him to struggle like they did.

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“Fifty-three years ago, my parents started the Murugan Coffee Nilayam in Madurai. It was a small-scale affair, and the place served only coffee and snacks. And, then my mother started making idlis which became very popular,” says Manoharan.

He wanted to expand his mother’s small eatery ‘Murugan Coffee Nilayam’ in Madurai. So in 1991, he gave Madurai its first Murguran Idli shop — making idlis just like his mother did.

The fluffy bites of heaven became so popular that people approached him to open an outlet in Chennai. In 2003, the city got its first Murugan Idli Shop on T Nagar’s GN Chetty road, with many more to follow!

Along with rebranding the eatery, Manoharan also introduced some new items on the menu. He introduced chutneys, sambar, and podi to the menu. He also brought delicacies like ghee pongal, sakkarai pongal, vada, and the soul-quenching jigarthanda to the shop.

Even the place’s name has an interesting backstory. When Manoharan was deciding on the name, many advised him to change the ‘shop’ and replace it with ‘restaurant’.

However, he decided to stick with ‘shop’ and he thought that it resonated better with the middle-class milieu, whom he initially wished to serve.

At the time of the interview in 2019, this place steamed at least 100 idlis at a time and served between 10,000 and 12,000 idlis daily.

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