Tthe Nilgiris - As the old gives way, fond memories remain

The Nilgiris outlet, run by a franchise, gave up their spaceon R.K. Salai as the rent was too high —file photo

For those who lived in the city in the 1980s, the Nilgiris department store on Radhakrishnan (R.K.) Salai was always a landmark.

Customers had a soft corner for their neatly-packed and stacked products, milk and butter, Ooty vegetables and fruits, and the closely-strung jasmine strands sold outside the store.

Radha Vasudevan, foodie and cooking enthusiast, said she would go to the store to pick up fresh ingredients for cakes every Christmas.

“In the 80s I remember how we used to go there to pick up milk packets and vegetables early in the morning. A couple of months ago, when I went there, there was a different name board. But I did find the plain cornflakes I needed to make ‘mixture’. The service also remains the same,” she said.

Like Ms. Vasudevan, other customers of the popular corner store too have noticed the change in name from Nilgiris to Wait Rose London.

“It’s not just a name change. It’s a different supermarket brand with three outlets in Chennai. We plan to expand to more locations… we have had a few offers from companies,” said Selva Bakyaraj, director of Sunrise Chennai Distributors that runs the store now.

Stores in the U.K.

The group is not new to the retail business and has five stores in the U.K. “We will soon introduce imported goods, including baby food, cosmetics and frozen foods,” he said.

Sources at Nilgiris said their outlet was run by a franchise but since the rent on R.K. Salai was too high, they chose to not continue at the location. Nilgiris has over 70 stores in and around the city, run in franchise mode.

Nilgiris, a popular landmark on

R.K. Salai, has been replaced by another supermarket chain