How many students do you know at Parkway South who own a restaurant?

Junior Srujan Garimella and his family own Bawarchi Biryanis Indian Cuisine on Manchester Road in the strip mall across from Walmart and have owned it “for about 2 to 3 years now.” Garimella and his family can sometimes find their job a struggle, which is no surprise considering the problems COVID-19 has brought the restaurant industry.

“It’s difficult some days, but when there’s a lot of profit, it’s good,” Garimella said.

Garimella said his dad had a passion to start a business of his own ever since he moved to the United States from India in 1997. 

“We decided to start the business because of my dad’s passion,” Garimella said. 

In a family business, one would expect the whole family to play a part or plan to do so in the future. 

“I do not plan on working there in the future; sometimes I run the register for a few hours though and get free food, and my whole family has worked there at some point in their lives. A normal workday for me is being the cashier, but it gets tough on weekends because we get busy,” he said.

Garimella said the most popular dish at the restaurant is Butter Chicken with Naan. Butter Chicken is a curry of chicken in a spiced tomato, butter, and cream sauce. Garimella says that the biggest hit is Butter Chicken because it is one of the mildest but tasty items sold at the restaurant.  

Evelyn Petty, a South teacher who teaches cooking classes, said she’s happy to hear that there is an Indian restaurant nearby.

“West county is a growing area for a diverse population which should allow for new restaurants to open for people to enjoy,” she said.

Indian cuisine is world-renowned for its spicy food, so it’s no wonder its popularity is seeing a sharp increase.

“I would say Indian cuisine is not shy! It is brilliant in color and has deep flavors. Not sure about similarities and differences,” Petty said.

Garimella said the food varies on the level of spiciness, with the Chicken 555 coming in as one of the milder dishes, and the Guntur Chicken Biryani taking the cake as the spiciest menu item.

“I would definitely eat at a student-owned restaurant…. But I would read the reviews first!” Petty said.