Markeshia Ricks Photo
Gopi Nair grew up in Kerala, India. He came to the U.S. in 2001, pursuing a career as a chef. Two years ago he opened Tikkaway Grill, a healthful fast-casual Indian restaurant on Orange Street. Offering economically priced, “fast, fresh, healthy Indian food” to order with gluten-free and vegan options, the outlet (which is halal) became a big hit. Nair has since opened a second branch at 2 Howe St. Customers build their own dishes from a menu of choices. He lives with his wife, Deepa, and children Arjun, 7, and Diya, 4.
Nair spoke about his journey from hotel owner to healthy lifestyle advocate on an episode of WNHH’s “Mornings with Mubarakah.”
Click on the above sound file to listen to the interview, or listen later on Soundcloud or iTunes. Below are some excerpts:
Business mission: I am a health advocate. I just happen to own a restaurant.
How he develop a passion for health and wellness. My father was in the Indian air force … Every couple of years he would move bases and he chose to keep the family with him. Because we had this nomadic life, our eating habits were not rooted in one geographic area. India is a diverse country, and every state has its own cuisine. I would find us eating different kinds of food … That’s where the fundamentals of eating right … being aware of what you put in your body, that philosophy [came from].
On childhood pressure India growing up to become an engineer or doctor: I don’t look like a rebel, but I just didn’t want to be an engineer or doctor like my peers. Growing up in India, that’s a given … but that’s something that I would not feel complete doing. Very early in my life … I found my personality traits. And I realized that my strength was in giving and being of service. At that time hospitality was not a very lucrative career or looked upon with awe. It was a time when the high school dropouts would get into restaurants and the hospitality trade. So that was a tall order.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Deepa, Diya and Gopi Nair.
Was it disappointing for your family that you were not going to be an engineer or a doctor?Actually no. Thank God for that. My parents were very understanding. I took the entrance exams for engineering and medicine and pretty much aced it. I got through. I took the three options and went to my father and said, ‘Listen this is what I have. I could be either of these. I want to do this.’ He said, ‘If you promise not to come and take … from my retirement funds, you are on your own. If you come back, you’re in trouble.’ I’m glad I didn’t get scared then. I did what I had to do. No regrets. I’m extremely happy.
How he developed a love of cooking: To be honest, this [culinary arts] was not an option growing up, when I was there in India. But I was always a mama’s boy. My life was school and home. That was it. I would come straight home. I would hang out with my mom all day long. I would actually hang not he tip of her sari. I have fond memories of sitting right next to the oven and ranges and just eating off the hot plate that she would make. My fondest memories are of them. Even now she feeds me … it stems from there. It just took shape. I found myself doing what I was very comfortable doing.
Paul Bass Photo
How came up with the idea of Tikkaway: I realized that people I studied Henry Ford, the man who changed the way America manufactures and the way the world manufactures. From making shoes to restaurants, anything you do in mass is following assembly line process. So what we do here is assembly line. … Cooking is a skill set. But when you cook for some time, you realize it’s not just a skill. It’s philosophy. When cooking and food becomes a philosophy, things just change. The way you look at it changes. My wife frowns at me when I say this, [but] I have been pregnant with Takeaway for six years. For the last trimester, I had all those issues. I could not sleep. I could no eat. I could not socialize. I did not like being with people. All I was worried about, all I had to do was ‘Get this out, and get this going.’ A very simple philosophy of trying to simplify. I could whip up a 12-course state banquet in 10 minutes … all high-sounding, sophisticated cuisine. But it took me years to come up with a simple menu that would be effective for someone who is not introduced to this cuisine. You communicate in the local language … Tikkaway is foreign cuisine in a local language.
On keeping it simple: Homecoooked Indian food is great. You feel great. But when go to restaurant, something changes … As owners and chefs, we try too hard to make it extra special for the customer, extra tasty. In the process, we use ingredients like creams, butter, an other additives to make it look good, food colors to make it appealing … stuff that you would not normally use at home on a daily basis because you want to make it special. You forget if you want to make it special, it should be once a month. If food is everyday an everyday story … the best cooking is trying to make it simple. The idea behind doing what I do is that people get educated as well. What I’ve done is I’ve made the food as lean as I possibly could … if I can eat it every day, if I can feed it to my children every day, it’s on there. If not, even if you paid me, I would not put it on the menu.
Why New Haven: New Haven is a great small city. I live in Fairfield County. In my research for a test model for a pilot store, new Haven was the closest that had all the elements that you require in terms of the diverse demographic, the young population, Yale University, Yale hospital, and the demographics that go along with a world-class university. The air in New Haven is very open, conducive to new ideas, to challenges, to have debate, which is what I needed to validate my model. I’m very, very glad that I came to New Haven. And New Haven has loved us equally.
On setting goals: I grew up in India. There were a lot of haves and lot of have-nots. Now I am American. One of my professors early in life said, “Gopi, you can do anything you want. But you cannot do everything you want.” When you apply that, your realize you do not have to try too hard to do all the big things. But in your own small way, in your own life on a daily basis, if you are aware of the problems … you can impart those thought processes in your actions. Every small action can add up to a big outcome.
Future plans: Definitely expansion is in my mind. Probably I would like to look at a bigger market. I would look at Boston.
The “Open For Business” series of interviews with immigrant small-business owners is made possible in part by support from Frontier Communications.
