Brothers Ramesh and Sanjeev Sharma have been running the popular India Garden restaurant in Lakewood for nearly 20 years. Come spring, the pair will open a second eatery across town in Shaker Heights. The offshoot establishment will be called Star of India Garden, and it will soon be taking shape inside the Market Hall at Van Aken District.
When it opens in March or April, Star of India Garden will offer a very similar lineup of rice, meat, seafood, vegetarian and bread dishes as to what is available in Lakewood, but those items will be presented to diners in a fast-casual fashion. For carry-out customers, the experience will largely mirror that of a traditional restaurant experience, according to Sanjeev.
Star of India Garden is taking the space most recently occupied by Ninja City, which decamped back in October. The addition marks the return of Indian cuisine to the Market Hall, an absence since Doug Katz closed Chutney B back in 2021.
“It gives a different dimension of food to the Market Hall,” says Van Aken District general manager Jesse Rathner. “It allows us to provide more ethnic offerings, which we hadn’t had in quite some time.”
The move comes at an opportune time for the wider community as well. With the impending relocation to Legacy Village in Lyndhurst, Saffron Patch will be closing its longstanding Shaker Heights location.
“There’s going to be a void in the community very soon,” adds Rathner. “This allows us to ensure that Shaker Heights remains a destination for Indian restaurants.”
The former Ninja City (and Domo Yakitori and Sushi before that) space is the largest in the Market Hall, with the roomiest kitchen and its own seating area. But it also is tucked away in a corner, lacking the visibility of many of the smaller stands. That’s an issue that will be dealt with jointly between the landlord and its new tenants. The goal will be to make some cosmetic changes to achieve “maximum visibility,” says Rathner.
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