Did you know that there is a ‘Brampton’ that serves delicious Indian food in Ottawa?

When Ravinder Singh came to Canada in 2010, he didn’t even know how to chop an onion. 15 years later, however, his restaurant in the nation’s capital, named Brampton Authentic Indian Foods – is doing roaring business, serving delicious Indian food in Ottawa.

As his restaurant marks 12 years of success, his delicious curries, flavour-packed street food, lip-smacking sweets and community events are the talk of the town. 

In this exclusive interview with The Inspired Indian, Ravinder explains to us how he went from warehouse worker to restaurant owner, and how his vision is fixed firmly on the future.

 

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My wife and I came to Canada in 2010, moving to Brampton and leaving our six-month-old daughter behind in India, because we wanted to build a bright future for her. We both worked at a warehouse in Milton for an American company for about three years, when we were laid off.

In 2013, I made a trip to Ottawa to meet a friend, and was arguing with him over why there was no good Indian food to be had in the capital. He told me that the best Indian restaurant in the city was in downtown Ottawa, but there was no good Indian food nearby.

Soon afterwards, my friend and I went to the restaurant to have lunch – I remember it vividly: we’d ordered thalis, and the naan we were served quite clearly came from a packet. The owner shouted at me and told me that he’d been running the restaurant this way for the last 15 years and no one had complained, so why was I raising an issue with him?

 

Interesting – how did this lead to the creation of your restaurant?

When I went back to Brampton, my experience in Ottawa stuck with me, and I decided to open a restaurant that would serve authentic Indian food in the capital. When I shared my plan with my wife, she laughed at me, saying I didn’t even know how to peel an onion, let alone manage a restaurant.

But with belief in the Almighty, I decided to go ahead with my plan anyway: my initial plan was to sell marinated chicken that could be sold to families to make at home or enjoy at a barbecue. I went to a friend in Brampton who ran a shop that sold meat and learned the trade from him.

I would’ve travelled a total of about 20,000km between Brampton and Ottawa to organize everything for the restaurant – the two cities are 500km apart – and spent about $75,000 to procure restaurant supplies from a company in Toronto, because I was determined to make this a success.

 

So why did you name your restaurant after Brampton?

When I was forming my company, my accountant suggested naming it after Brampton, so that people in Ottawa would know that there is a place that serves authentic, delicious Indian food in Ottawa. It was also the first place I came to in Canada, so that name stuck.

 

Could you tell us about how you attracted customers?

Initially, it was only through word of mouth, because back then, Facebook had just begun gaining popularity – I still made about $225,000 in sales in 2014, and thanks to efforts to constantly innovate, made more than a million dollars in sales last year. 

Along the way, I realized that I couldn’t sell products that people didn’t know I had: in the first year of operations, I bought sweets worth $10,000 but had to throw them all away because no one bought them.

It’s about creating the right exposure for your products: in 2018, I was invited to display my products at a carnival, with one caveat: I could only give things away for free. I distributed sweet boxes to everyone, and they were surprised to see such amazing sweets available in Ottawa.

I also created a mela-type event where people could eat and buy delicious Indian food in Ottawa – street stalls, music, song and dance, to bring the culture of India to Canada. People would queue up to eat fresh, piping-hot tikkis and jalebis made with desi ghee. 

We have also capitalized on our audience on social media – Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok – which helps us attract different demographics. As a consequence, 60 percent of customers are students.

How did you manage during the COVID pandemic?

That was a really tough time: we had to shut the restaurant for two years, so we decided to pivot and sell Indian groceries. The stocks of Indian groceries in Ottawa had dried up. 

I used to go to Brampton every alternate day, buy groceries from an Indian supplier, and then sell them to customers. If a bag of flour cost $11, then I would sell for $11. There were also people who could not pay at the time, so I would tell them to take a bag of flour to feed their families and pay whenever they could.

When they came back to pay 15 days later, they would insist on paying me about $40 or $50, because they said that I was there for them when they needed groceries, so they were repaying my kindness, but I was just trying to do the right thing.

 

Amazing! So, what future plans do you have for the community?

My plan now is to build a bigger facility because the one I currently have was built more than 50 years ago, but I cannot afford to lose my loyal customers, so I have built a ghost kitchen to help with deliveries. Depending on how that works out, I will plan the construction of the new restaurant accordingly.

At the same time, I want to continue my community langar event where I invite all of Ottawa to come and eat for free. Thanks to the help of the community, I am also asked to cater to the High Commission of India in Ottawa.

 

What advice do you have for your fellow immigrant businesspersons?

People look at my business and think the path to success is easy, but they never see the sacrifices I’ve made to get here. I am successful because I take risks – it’s like investing in stocks: if you’re always reading the disclaimer, then you will be stuck there. You have to take a risk if you want to succeed.

– Gautam Viswanathan, Deputy Editor, The Inspired Indian