A small food shop on a busy main road near a village is proving that big earnings don't always need a big city address. Run by a husband-and-wife duo, the shop has caught attention online after its business model was shared in detail on social media by X user Nalini Unagar, who visited the shop, which seemingly looks established in Gujarat, and spoke to its owner about how it runs.
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What's On The Rs 100 Thali
The shop's entire business is built around a single, simple offering - a Rs 100 vegetarian thali that includes two sabzis, roti, dal, rice, papad and salad. Despite the modest price point and its location near a village, the shop has managed to build a steady, loyal customer base.
According to the owner, more than 25 people walk in to eat at the shop daily, largely because of its spot on the main road. Beyond the walk-ins, the business also receives over 40 confirmed tiffin orders every day. When asked who orders tiffins in a village setting, the owner explained that most of these customers are farm workers and elderly people living alone nearby - people who depend on the shop for a hot, affordable meal rather than cooking for themselves.
The Numbers Behind The Business
Combining the walk-in customers and tiffin orders, Unagar's post arrives at an estimate of 65 thalis sold a day. At Rs 100 each, that works out to around Rs 6,500 in daily sales, or close to Rs 1.95 lakh over a month.
How The Shop Keeps Costs Low
Much of what keeps the business viable comes down to how leanly it's run. The owner and his wife handle all the cooking themselves, which means there's no staff to pay. He also owns a small farm where he grows his own vegetables, cutting down further on ingredient costs. Between the two, Unagar estimates the shop runs on a profit margin of at least 60 percent, translating to more than Rs 1 lakh in profit every month.
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It's worth noting that the 65-thali estimate, the profit margin and the monthly profit figure all come from Unagar's own calculations in her post, based on what the owner told her, they haven't been independently verified.
Unagar wrote that she'd assumed a shop this size, tucked away near a village, wouldn't be making much money, and came away surprised by just how wrong that assumption was.