A growing fast-casual Indian food chain that started in California is headed to the East Coast, hoping to open their first of five Garden State locations early next year.
Curry Up Now was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 by husband and wife duo Akash and Rana Kapoor. The pair currently operates three food trucks and six corporate brick-and-mortar outposts in Northern California, as well as two cocktail bars dubbed Mortar & Pestle in San Jose and San Mateo.
The menu at Curry Up Now includes traditional Indian street food offerings like Pani Puri, Samosas, Bhel Puri, and Papdi Chaat, plus some more outside-the-box items. Dishes like a Tikka Masala Burrito, Deconstructed Samosas, and Sexy Fries, an Indian-inspired poutine using cross-cut sweet potato fries and cheese. The restaurant’s Naughty Naan is made with the Indian bread slathered in cheese, caramelized onions, shaved jalapeños, and salad, while items such as Kathi Rolls, Biryani, and Thali Platters round out the menu.
Curry Up Now is fast casual, but they claim to use fresh all-natural curries, chutneys, and sauces. Local organic produce and protein options that are halal are exclusively used, plus their menu features a wide array of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free items.
For their New Jersey locations, Piscataway-based franchisees Pritesh Benjamin and Tejavsi Patel will be running the show. It’s a big time of expansion for Curry Up Now; the restaurant has solidified multi-unit franchise deals in nearly every major region in the country, including the Northeast, South, West, and West Coast.
“With franchise deals already solidified throughout California, we’re excited to branch outside of our home state and expand our reach to more of the country,” said co-founder and CEO of Curry Up Now, Akash Kapoor.
A representative from the PR company working with Curry Up Now told Jersey Digs that the New Jersey franchisees have their eyes on Hoboken and Jersey City as places where they are going to start looking for real estate, but no leases have been signed anywhere yet. They are looking to open their first New Jersey location within the next six months.
