Ninety-odd years at the same corner of George Town.
Some shops survive by changing with the times. We have survived by refusing to.
In 1934, Late Sri Revoor Padmanabha Chetty opened a small shop at Kothwal Chavadi in George Town and called it Perumal & Co. He sold three things — butter, ghee, and edible oils — and he sold them honestly. That, more than anything else, is what built this business.
The shop never moved. Through the upheavals of independence, through the quiet decades of Madras becoming Chennai, through generations of regulars and their grandchildren, the address stayed the same: 142, Audiappa Naicken Street.
At the firm's golden jubilee, the family chose to rename it Giri & Co, in tribute to the elders who had shaped its way of working. The brand “GIRI” was a thought of Sri R. V. Chakradhari, with the blessings of his grandfather, Late Sri R. V. Ramamurti. The signage changed; nothing else did.
Our ghee is still prepared each morning, melted slowly from meticulously sourced snow-white butter — the freshest soft butter, brought directly from villages around Uttukuli in the Coimbatore belt. No preservatives. No machinery shortcuts. The granular texture, the deep aroma, and the colour our customers know — those come only from doing it the long way.
The oils — gingelly, groundnut, refined groundnut, refined sunflower, palm, mustard, castor, vanaspati — are sourced the same way: from trusted mills and the coastal belts of Andhra Pradesh, chosen by hand, kept honest.
A Brief Timeline
Four moments in a long life.
- 1934
A shop opens at Kothwal Bazaar
Late Sri Revoor Padmanabha Chetty establishes Perumal & Co at Kothwal Chavadi in George Town, Madras — supplying butter, ghee and edible oils to the families of the city.
- Mid-century
Trust is built, one tin at a time
The shop earns its reputation as the place to come for genuinely pure ghee and unadulterated oils — quietly, without advertising, simply by keeping its standards.
- Golden Jubilee
Perumal & Co becomes Giri & Co
At the firm's fiftieth year, the name is changed to Giri & Co, in tribute to the family elders who steered the business through generations of Madras life.
- Today
Same address. Same standards.
The shop still stands at 142 Audiappa Naicken Street. Ghee is still prepared each morning from white butter sourced traditionally from villages near Uttukuli. The customers' grandchildren now do the buying.
We would love to see you in person.
The shop is the best way to know us. Come by, and we will explain everything ourselves — the way we always have.