Drive-ins catching up in IT corridor

Madhapur/Kondapur: Raghav Krishna, Deepak Deshpande and Shalini Goyal have their weekly off on Saturday and work in a software company in Madhapur. Though they stay in Secunderabad, invariably on Saturday and Sunday they drive all the way to one of the 80-odd drive ins late at night. Raghav says, “We cannot sleep early even on our off days as we work at nights and we come to drive-ins and hop from one to another.” 

This is the story of the trio, but there are many families who make a bee-line to drive ins for the sheer variety on offer. Most of them are located in Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Cyber Towers, Shiakpet, Kondapur, Mind Space, Filmnagar and Kompally.  

There are about 80 drive ins in the west zone alone. Syala drive-in owner Chetanya Raju says, “It is a challenge to sustain customers’ interest. We tweak the menu and keep bringing new dishes.”   Mohd Mushraf, IT consultant for United Health Group said, “The entire family sits in the car and grabs a bite.”  

 Another common visitor Sunil said, “While I start from my home I call the drive-in and I order. We don’t have to wait. It is really convenient.”  A few drive-in owners are now planning to install huge screens to attract customers. That would be the next thing.
Kings Drive in owner Rama Raju said, “What’s great about our drive-in is that we have learned how to make customers happy and keep them coming up for food the business would raise.

 Chinese, Italian, Indian, Mughlai and all kinds of beverages are served.”     
People in the IT corridor know about drive ins but there is a large segment that is still unaware. The scope is immense. We are now planning to spread awareness.”