Photo: The location of the new Indian restaurant in Belmont.
His name is Sukhsimran Gill but you can call him Rusty. And if all goes to plan, you’ll be calling Rusty the owner of Belmont’s latest restaurant to be called Spice Delight.
Gill is prepared to turn the location of a now-closed Chinese restaurant on Concord Avenue into a mid- to upscaled Indian eatery by mid-November after winning approval of a Special Permit for a change in ownership from the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, Oct. 1.
“We’re hoping to bring some nice Indian food your community,” Gill told the board.
Gill is the owner of Gill Pizza of Londonderry, NH, a wholesale pizza company that services a large number of school districts (including Belmont … New Hampshire) and businesses in the Granite State and Massachusetts. But the New Hampshire resident has also had a hand in the retail end of the food industry for the past 15 years, owning both Indian and Italian restaurants.
His last restaurant, Zaika Taste of India, was doing swimmingly at the Meadow Glen Mall in Medford. Then last year Wegmans Food Market arrived and took over 120,000 square feet of mall space, resulting in his business and all the other eateries being kicked out of the revamped development. Rusty had been seeking another site since.
And Gill and his partner who lives in Everett believed they found what they were looking for at the cubby corner locale that was home of the closed Golden Garden restaurant at 63 Concord Ave. They soon signed a lease until 2023 with two five year options.
The menu will primarily be northern Indian cuisine – chaat, tandoor, and curries such as tikka masala and korma will be familiar to many – and will be prepared by a chef Gill has employed at numerous locations for 15 years.
“He is excellent,” said Gill.
The storefront, which has 44 seats, will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and noon to 10 p.m. on weekends. He believes the business will be half takeout and the other half sitdown service. The restaurant does not have a liquor license but Gill said they will soon approach the town for a beer and wine restaurant licence
Questions were asked about parking; Belmont’s zoning code requires one spot for every two seats. But the parking – all on- street – is grandfathered.