An auto-rickshaw puttering around the streets of Chennai is not an unusual sight, but this one, with its bright, orange paint, LED lights, and metal tub where the passenger would sit, is sure to raise a few eyebrows.
Akash Auto Biryani has been serving biryani to the people of South Chennai in a unique way, through the back seat of an auto. K Akash, the owner and founder, is 23 years old, and has an impressive list of jobs under his belt. “I am a bike stunt-rider and mechanic,” he says, apart from his work with his restaurant. “Before this, I used to work at Bai Veetu Kalyanam, the famous biryani restaurant in Navalur, and I used to drive an auto.”
Since his college and diploma days, Akash has always wanted to start his own business. “There are so many new concepts for food trucks, like bike barbeques, but nobody had done anything with an auto,” says Akash. He redesigned his auto, removed the seating area, and added shelves and platforms to keep the large tubs of rice. The ‘food truck’ is located on Old Mahabalipuram Road, near the Sholinganallur junction, and has been there since October 2022. It is open at night, from 8pm to 2am, and largely caters to the residents of the surrounding suburb, and the late-night employees of the nearby IT offices.
