South Mumbai’s iconic Irani restaurant to shut down this month after 100 years of service

Sun Shine Restaurant, Bakery and Beer Bar at Thakurdwar will shut its doors next Monday. Pic/Shadab Khan

When Shapur Phirozmand was a young boy, his father Rustom would pay him four annas and ten paise for sitting at the counter of their shop, Sun Shine Bakery at Thakurdwar. Back then, it had some of the best watermelon juice, custard, pudding, and cakes. He'd rush there after tuition classes and man the counter for a few hours. He'd pick up his earnings and head to Byramjee school a few blocks away to exercise. "It's the fondest memory I have from my childhood," says 75-year-old Phirozmand from his home in California, where he is currently residing, in an exclusive phone call to mid-day.

The 100-year-old Sun Shine Restaurant, Bakery and Beer Bar, a landmark at Thakurdwar, has been served notice to vacate the space since the building is in a dilapidated state. When Phirozmand's grandfather, Ardeshir came down from Iran, he started this restaurant and ran it for a few years before handing it over to his son, aged only 18. Rustom ran it till his last breath in 2003, waking up every day at 4.30 am to open the place by 5 am. Phirozmand, who had been living abroad, wasn't keen on running it until his mother insisted that he step in.

Also read: Aur, Irani chai

Sun Shine started as a bakery and the beer bar was added 40 years ago

"The omelette pav, brun maska and mawa cake were very famous. At first, it was only a bakery. It had marble tables. The beer bar was added 40 years ago. During those days, the owners of Express Bakery which shut down due to Metro construction two years ago, Kayani Bakery, Church Restaurant, Golden Star Restaurant, Darius Bakery and many other Irani restaurateurs and businessmen would come regularly to meet my father. They were all friends and spoke very fondly of their hometown in Iran. There was a lot of camaraderie," recalls Phirozmand, who handed over the reins to his manager Ashok Shetty seven years ago.

One could smell the warm goodness of their bakery. "We bake everything in-house," Shetty says with a sense of pride, but also loss. He says, Malabar Hill resident Chef Devansh Jhaveri was a regular customer. He would always stop by for bun maska and chai, or sometimes misal pav and take away mawa cake during his visit to Kalbadevi for his family's steel business.

The 130-year-old building which houses Sun Shine is owned by N M Petit Charity Fund, which has sent a notice to the tenants to vacate. When we called the office in Fort, they were hesitant, saying, "Asking to vacate does not necessarily mean to shut down the establishment." Phirozmand and some other tenants have approached the Supreme Court over this. "We were willing to repair the building and had put forth several points as well, but in vain. The lawyers will meet up with the trust next month to discuss the next course of action after we have vacated the space."

A saloon and an office next to Sun Shine have already wrapped up last week. Shetty plans to down the shutters on the century-old Iranian restaurant and bakery soon. "I am left with no choice. Most of the staff have been working for almost 25-30 years. I've been here for 32 years. The notice is to vacate the space before November 30. We've been asked to go without any arrangements or compensation - just like that," he says.

Shetty is unsure what he would end up doing post-shutdown. "We are not sure what we will be doing next, especially with the furniture, bakery equipment, crockery, utensils and other items of the eatery. It may end up being sold at a scrap rate, to our loss," he adds. Siraj Irani, an Andheri resident, recalls the smell of fresh pav lingering in the lanes near it. "Sun Shine was always a landmark in Thakurdwar. You'd tell the driver to take a left or right from Sun Shine. It catered to the Maharashtrian population of the area as much as the Parsi and Irani communities around. An iconic eatery that has seen better days will surely be missed by foodies and locals alike."

30
Day in November before which tenants have to vacate the building