Ayyar & Co. Bakery was founded by Giri Ayyar in 1917, and has been an egg-free bakery for the last 100 years. It is amazing to note that it has been functioning from the same spot too!

After a while, C.R. Venkata Das took over the business from Giri Ayyar . The bakery started off as a small outlet which baked and sold hand-made bakery products. They used to make buns, breads, biscuits, and cake those days. The Omam (carom) biscuits of Ayyar & Co. was popular with the customers. The old bakery used to manufacture and market aerated drinks as well, in its early years.

The third-generation baker, V. Ramakrishnan says, “We made five varieties of aerated drinks, including Orange, Lemon, Cola, White Rose, and Portlo (tasted like the current Bovonto). Later on, the bigger companies came in and we quit making aerated drinks. In fact, Coimbatore had several successful soda and flavoured aerated water companies.”

The dreaded plague hit Coimbatore on a number of occasions, and Municipality made people vacate the city in order to stop the loss of life. The authorities used to ration bread, and the people were given coupons, which were exchanged for food products. Ayyar & Co. was one of the few outlets which was on the Government list of suppliers of food products, for it was known for its hygiene and quality standards.

According to V. Ramakrishnan, “We had customers from all over, and were quite busy during special occasions like marriage, for people used to flood Raja Street. In those days, Coimbatore Town was the main shopping hub for people living in the nearby towns and villages. I’m also happy to state that the iconic jeweller, P.A. Raju Chettiar and Ayyar & Co. launched their businesses at the same time.”

The Japanese cakes and cream cakes of Ayyar & Co. are eternally popular, and so are their items like homemade pickles, Elandhai vadagams, and ready-to-eat rice podis including Karuveppilai podi (curry leaves powder), Paruppu podi, Idli podi, etc. Generations of Coimbatoreans have savoured the food from outlets like Original Viswanatha Iyer, which was famous for its Jalebies, Sadasiva Iyer Coffee Club for its Rava Dosas, and Ayyar & Co for bakery products. Almost 100 years have passed, but the loyalty continues…