Jaipore Express restaurant debuts with “booming business”
RIDGEFIELD — For co-owners Roshan Balan and longtime friend Jeevan Pullan, the grand opening of their Jaipore Express restaurant in Ridgefield has been worth the wait.
“Since we opened on Sunday, our phones have been ringing off the hook and email orders are coming in,” said Balan, a Danbury resident. ”Business has been booming.”
Jaipore Express, on 19 Bailey Ave., brings to Ridgefield a unique, and, according to Balan, “tasty” brand of Indian cuisine. It’s also one-of-a kind because the restaurant primarily offers delivery and takeout, with little in-dining space available.
The owners hoped to open the restaurant last spring, in May or June 2021, following renovations and upgrades to the retail space formerly occupied by Subway. But Balan said the impact of COVID-19 caused construction delays. Construction companies paused at times or were busy with other projects, he said.
In December and January, everything came together to put the final touches on renovations and set the wheels in motion for Jaipore Express to open.
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the restaurant is an off-shoot of the Balan-owned Jaipore Royal Indian Cuisine restaurant in nearby Brewster, N.Y.
Jaipore Royal originally opened in 1993 with several owners. Balan said they were eventually bought out by Shiva Natarajan, Balan’s boss at the time. Natarajan owned nearly 20 restaurants in the New York area, and Balan worked for Natarajan in New York City. Natajaran eventually brought Balan to manage Jaipore Royal. When Natarajan retired in 2014, he started selling his restaurants, and Balan bought Jaipore Royal in November 2014.
Balan and Pullan also took over Natarajan’s Mexican restaurant in Hartsdale, N.Y. called VEGA. Balan co-owns another Indian cuisine restaurant in Newtown called Kolam and Pullan co-owns Tako Mexican in Yonkers, N.Y.
“I’ve been having my eye on Ridgefield and opening a restaurant there for quite some time,” Balan said. “I went there to get closer to more people in the Ridgefield and Redding area and share with them the Indian cuisine we offer.”
Dan O’Brien, chairman of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce, believes Jaipore Express and its Indian cuisine fit in well in Ridgefield.
“We’re delighted that Jaipore Express is opening in Ridgefield,” O’Brien said. “Ridgefield has a very vibrant restaurant industry catering to a wide variety of tastes. Restaurants, along with Ridgefield’s great many cultural offerings and our great local shopping, not only serves Ridgefielders well, but also serve as important drivers of the town’s economy and tourism.”
Balan and Pullan, who lives in Danbury and also has other restaurants in New York, planned for a soft opening now to get the restaurant going. There will be a grand opening at some point with the possibility of a bigger capacity for dining in.
“People have been telling us they’ve been waiting for us to open,” Balan said. “We have been bombarded by customers. We have been asked about dining in but right now we only have space for a few tables. The plan is to wait for the good weather to come and possibly add outdoor dining. That way we could accommodate a lot more people for a dinein experience.”
For more information, a look at the menu and ordering online, go to www.jaiporetct.com.