Chicha Cooldrinks, an 80-year-old shop in Lakdikapul, sells five flavors of soda including fruit cola, lemon, jira, ginger and ice cream
Post Date – 12:00 AM, Tuesday – 1/17/23
Mohammed Idrees at his stall, who has been working with his father since he was 8 years old.
Hyderabad: On the busy main road of Lakdikapul, an 80-year-old shop hides in plain sight. This little shop doesn’t have any distinctive signage like other places in the area with their colorful neon nameplates, maybe because the owner never felt the need for it.
Some call it an “Ice Cream Soda Shop,” while others call it “Chicha Cooldrinks.” But local residents and long-term customers have discovered that the store is synonymous with the same name “Idrees Saab”.
“My Abba Jaan opened the shop in 1943. Everyone from the Nizams to the famous actors, cricketers and politicians of that era visit our shop regularly,” said the man who started working with his father from the age of 8 Mohammed Idrees said.
Today, he manages the store with the help of his son Mohammed Owais and son-in-law Abdul Hakeem Javed, who, despite their separate careers, devote a lot of time to the family business.
While most cold beverage businesses have switched to modern refrigerators, Chicha Cooldrinks still uses the old method of storing beverages in boxes filled with ice cubes. Other than that, their curry is what they are famous for.
“We started mixing this special masala with our sparkling water in 1980. It was an instant hit. Even today, people still come to taste it,” he said.
They sell five flavors of soda, including fruit cola, lemon, jeera, ginger, and the most famous of them is the ice cream flavor. Once you’ve finished a quarter of your soda, a pinch of masala will drip into your drink, which can cause fizz.
From youngsters who discovered the store through word of mouth to seniors who have been visiting for a long time now, Chicha’s unique approach to soda drinks keeps the place open until midnight every day.
The environment in their store has changed a lot over the years. High-rise buildings rise from the ground, the main road is widened, and the subway station is only a few meters away. But Idrees Saab and his masala ice cream soda have remained the same.
