From The Peopling of New York City

Interview with Eugene D’Costa, manager of Delhi Palace Restaurant

Hello, what is your name?

Eugene D’Costa

Where are you from?

I am from Bangladesh.

When was this restaurant established?

This was established more than 30 years ago

How many branches does the restaurant have?

Only this one

What kind of food to you serve here, and of what origin is it?

We serve BOTH (he put a lot of emphasis on this) north Indian and south Indian food.

Why did your owner decide to open a restaurant here in Jackson Heights?

Well, he was very comfortable with the restaurant business since it was something he knew how to do before. So he just started this restaurant to serve Indian food.

Why Jackson Heights?

It’s an Indian neighborhood, so of course he’ll open it here.

When do get the most business?

We have the most business on weekends, especially Saturday lunch for the buffet.

Have you had any experience working at a restaurant before this one?

Yes, I’ve worked as a manager in Oman and Saudi Arabia before being hired for a job here.

How did you find your cook? Was it through job ads, reference…?

Well, we use all methods that we have. We sometimes put out some job ads and sometimes there will be some references. People come through and apply for work a lot, though, so we don’t do that much.

Have you changed your menu since opening, and why?

Yes, we’ve added many different kinds of foods and taken away many. When people change, we have to find out what foods they like and what they don’t.

Do you experiment with your menu when deciding it?

Around once a year, we will decide to try a new recipe or take out a not so popular food and if our customers like it, we will keep it.

Does your owner interact with the other owners in this area? (He looked confused, so I elaborated) – do they come and talk about issues in the neighborhood, and such.

Yes, they often come together and talk about the business and their prices (Note: he trailed off here, making it hard for me to follow this up)

Have you advertised in newspapers or other publications?

We used to advertise on Indian TV and we do get people that review us.

Do you know if your owner has any future plans about renovation or expansion?

Well, the economy is not so good, so not now. We’ll probably wait before talking about any of that.