From The Peopling of New York City

Interview with Nirav Shah, manager of Rajbhog Sweets Restaurant in Jackson Heights

What is your name and where were you born?

My name is Nirav Shah, and I was born in Bombay.

When was this restaurant established?

Back in 1978, my uncle and aunt established this restaurant here.

Why Jackson Heights?

It was just where the Indian community was. They built this shop targeting the Indian people, so they built the sweets shop from here. Now, it is the largest sweets and snacks manufacturer in the United States.

Are there any other branches besides this one?

Yes, we have 14 locations, but this is the flagship store.

Did your aunt or uncle have any experience with operating a restaurant before?

No, my uncle was an electrical engineer when he first came to the United States. He founded this shop to give my aunt something to do.

How about you?

No, I have not.

What food do you serve here? Of what origin?

Well, we’re the largest sweets and snacks manufacturer, so we have all different kinds of food.

When do you get the most customers?

In the evenings and during Indian festivals. Every year during Indian holidays, we ship out many sweets and we cater to many different tastes.

Did your aunt cook, or did you hire a cook? No, my aunt was the primary cook in the beginning. Now, we employ a lot more people.

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

We find almost all of our employees by reference.

Have you changed your menu since opening, and for what reasons?

Yes, definitely, because we need to adjust for the times. Right now, we are serving the third generation of Indians who are here, and they like different things [Note: Throughout the interview, customers came and greeted him by name and vice versa. Customer base seems to be heavily made of regulars]. As you can see, we’ve added different Indian foods as well and we’ve had to change the menu to suit people’s tastes.

Have you advertised in newspapers or other forms of media?

Yes, we advertise in the Indian newspaper, but that’s about it. We mostly depend on word of mouth, and when newspapers like the New York Times decide to review us, we are very happy for the publicity.

Do you interact or talk with the other restaurant owners in this area?

No, we don’t really talk about work. We’re competitors, you know.

Do you ever come together and talk casually?

Yeah, but never about work.

Do you have any future plans for this restaurant, such as expansion or renovation?

Well, we’re always looking to expand, but with the economy we might have to even close down some stores. We’ll probably leave anything until after the economy gets better.

Thank you for you time.

No problem.