Skr Juice Shop

Skr Juice Shop is just a small corner in West Saidapet on Jones Lane. It’s right near Balaji Cycle Store, so we see a lot of people stopping by while they wait for their bikes to get fixed. The shop isn't much to look at, just a counter and some blenders that have seen better days. We start early in the morning, around six, when the fruit arrives from the market. Cutting everything up takes a long time. The floor gets sticky with watermelon juice and sugar by noon. It's a hot spot because there isn't much shade on this part of the street. We use a lot of ice, and the sound of the crusher is something you just get used to. Sometimes we run out of mangoes or the milk delivery is late, and we just have to tell people to come back later. Most of our regulars are guys from the local shops or students walking home. We don't have a big menu or anything printed out, just what is on the board. It gets crowded in the evenings when the sun goes down. We just keep pouring and rinsing glasses. It's a simple way to make a living in Chennai. The fan doesn't do much when it’s really humid, but we stay busy enough that we don’t notice it too much. Just a local shop doing its thing.