NYE Bash to Mark End for Punjabi As Owner Departs For India
After more than a decade as the proprietor of pioneering Indian eatery Punjabi, Gireesh Chaudhury has decided to close the business and head back to his homeland. He'll host a NYE blowout, with an all you can eat buffet and open bar for RMB 258 per person from 7pm onwards until his stocks run out. From there, he'll head back to New Delhi to work for his family's construction and urban development business as part of a major government-driven project.
"It feels like I am cutting out my heart and leaving it," Chaudhury tells the Beijinger about his sudden closure plans, before going on to thank the longtime regulars that packed the popular restaurant over the years. He added that despite attempts to reach a deal with investors to keep Punjabi running after his Beijing departure, those negotiations fell through, saying simply: "They didn't have the money."
The New Delhi born restaurateur made a name for himself in the capital with the Lucky Street located restaurant, which has long boasted a contemporary take on Indian cuisine. As one Beijinger reviewer put it, Chaudhury and his staff have avoided “cut-and-paste Indian dishes like chicken tikka masala” in favor of “light, modern Indian cuisine” like barbecue king prawns, samosa burgers, and more. While that helped draw throngs to the restaurant over its eleven-year run, Chaudhury upped the ante as of late with meatless Mondays and vegan events, film and TV screenings, hosting the Beijinger's recent chili pepper eating contest, and plans to open an Indian cultural center.
Punjabi's contemporary take on Indian fare has helped it stand out from the competition
Of the decision to leave, Chaudhury tells the Beijinger: "I left home when I was 10 years old, since then I have lived in boarding schools, college, everywhere else but in India." The timing is right to head back, in Chaudhury's eyes, because Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "new directive, is 'housing for everyone.' Under that we shall be developing low-cost housing projects. My family is political and business-minded, so I'll be working with my Dad to help build over 40,000 apartments in the first phase of the project." You can read more about the endeavor here: rijapaninfra.com.
As a fitting-- albeit coincidental-- bookend to Chaudhury's departure, the restaurateur was recently inducted into the Beijinger's 2017 Dining Hall of fame. An article about that milestone details how Chaudhury first made his way to Beijing in the late 90's after being invited by his father, who owned factories on the Mainland. Though he was hesitant at first, it didn't take long for Chaudhury to be enticed by China's vibrant pace and the sheer amount of entrepreneurial opportunity. He began his career here by buying up a small Indian restaurant in Zhejiang run by a Chinese owner, before opening more branches across the country, including Punjabi on Beijing's Lucky Street in 2007. The article described how "Chinese clientele in the capital especially charmed Chaudhury with their curiosity, recognizing the curry and some other fare, but being shocked by how Indians eat without cutlery. 'It’s about breaking the mindset, about education,' said Chaudhury... a sentiment that clearly persists through his plans for the forthcoming cultural center.'"
Gireesh Chaudhury in a photo from the Beijinger's March 2013 magazine
While his vision for the cultural center never came to fruition, Chaudhury still looks back on his time in China with deep fondness. Though he'll miss bringing a smile to customers' faces with Punjabi's delectable Indian eats, while also pining for the nights spent barhopping with his friends and F&B cohorts-- he regaled us with boozy tales for our March 2013 magazine's "A Drink With," column-- Chaudhury's next endeavor will by no means be less exciting.
"My hometown is New Delhi so I will be based there. But we will be developing in four Indian cities with three separate factories, so I'll be traveling a lot. Through it I'll also be working on urban development projects in Ethiopia, Afghanistan and maybe Morocco," he says of the huge opportunity.
Despite the very different nature of this new venture, Chaudhury says his time here in Beijing will still offer him valuable insight. "Think of it as China 20 years ago during the beginning of its rapid development-- the plan is to be a part of pushing India into a new era, using my life and experience of living in China," he explains. Despite those enticing prospects, he admits it's very tough to leave Beijing, saying: "It feels like crap. China has been the place I have lived the most in my whole life, and it'll always be home for me."
Punjabi's closure also, of course, caps off a year of seemingly constant restaurant shutterings, including fellow old favorites like Migas, The Tree, and Vineyard Cafe. While many of those veteran establishments are living on in new incarnations, fans of Chaudhury's fiery Indian eats, and the proprietor's warm demeanor, will surely be all the more sad to see him and Punjabi go without such a second act.
Today, Chaudhury will be hosting an already scheduled NYE party that will double as a farewell celebration that kicks off at 7pm and features an all you can eat buffet and open bar.
Photos: Uni You, courtesy of Gireesh S. Chaudhury
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