Periamet – also known as Periyampet or Periyamedu – has long served as a gateway for travellers, traders and businessmen, its streets lined with century‑old lodges, mansions, hotels and tea stalls that stay open around the clock.
According to hotel owner P. Rafeeq Ahmed, the Covid period devastated the local leather trade, with almost 80 % of manufacturers and tanneries shutting down or retreating to showroom‑only operations, leaving the area populated mainly by bachelors renting rooms.
With the leather market in decline, affordable biryani has emerged as the neighbourhood’s culinary staple; restaurants such as Hotel Khaja, Selvi Mess and Periamet Nayeem Biryani now serve Vaniyambadi‑style biryani from lunch well into the night to meet the demand of workers and residents alike.
Rafeeq Ahmed, who opened Hotel Khaja on Poonamallee High Road in 2000 and expanded to Vepery High Road in 2004, says the biryani focus helped his business survive the downturn, adding a triangular parotta stuffed with mutton kheema as a surprise specialty for diners.
Other long‑standing eateries have adapted too. National Durbar Restaurant, founded in 1955, still offers its classic parotta‑chicken curry breakfast for ₹192, while Buhari Hotel, unable to make its signature samosas due to a commercial cooking‑gas shortage, now promotes a butter‑laden bun with house‑made fruit jam alongside its tea.
Selvi Mess, operating since 1983 and recently relocated to Poonamallee High Road, draws crowds with its seeraga samba mutton biryani, priced at ₹250 for mutton and ₹160 for chicken, a price point that appeals to the area’s labour force.
The culinary mix now sits side‑by‑side with global chains such as KFC and local favourites like Murugan Idli Shop, illustrating how Periamet’s multicultural character endures even as its economic base has shifted from leather to food.