‘We will wait as long as it takes,’ restaurateur says on opening new location downtown that will serve dad’s authentic recipes

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He signed a lease in February or March for restaurant space in the CareSource building downtown overlooking Day Air Ballpark, the home of the Dayton Dragons. Plans call for the space to have a patio.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and threw a wrench in society’s plans.

Singh says he will still open a second location of Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine, a eatery named for his grandfather, but it may not happen until January or February.

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“We are going to make sure everything is over before I open. I want to open up for full dining,” he said. “We will wait as long as it takes. No rush. Health is more important for my employees and my family.”

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Singh said his father, Paramjeet Singh, who is known to many simply as "Mr. Singh," opened Taj Mahal Indian Cuisine about 20 years ago in Cincinnati.

AJ Singh opened Gulzar's Indian Cuisine in Richmond, Ind., about five years ago.

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The exact location and design of the Dayton location has not been determined, but Singh said it will serve his father’s authentic north Indian recipes.

“We are trying to keep it as close to home cooking as possible,” Singh said. “We don’t Americanize  by any means.”

The restaurant will feature a lunch buffet and fine dining in the evening with a long line of dishes, including a range of Indian breads, butter chicken, lamb and shrimp curry, saag paneer, aloo vindaloo, assorted varieties of the rice dish biryani and clay oven dishes such as chicken tikka and tandoori shrimp.

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“We are going to do delivery. We are going to do lunch boxes, pretty much the whole deal for downtown,” he said.

Singh said that CareSource has been understanding about the current climate the world faces and its impact on his family’s business.

“Hopefully when everything is over, they will start their construction and we will start ours,” he said.