Indian grocery store owners expand with a restaurant and bar in uptown Charlotte

The group behind a Charlotte-area Indian grocery store and a takeout market have opened a full-service restaurant in uptown.

Exotica Indian Kitchen & Bar quietly opened last month at 500 S. College St. on The Green. Owned by brothers Dilip and Vijay Thotakuri and business partner Raj Vangara, the 3,500-square-foot restaurant space has been transformed from the former Brazz Carvery & Brazilian Steakhouse into an Indian restaurant and bar.

It’s the second Indian restaurant to debut in uptown in six months. Tikka Shack Indian Grub opened in August. That fast-casual chain at 400 S. Tryon St. is less than a half-mile from Exotica.

Vangara said while there are several restaurants on the south side of the city and some north of Charlotte, there’s been a gap in uptown for traditional Indian food. The spot at The Green is ideal, he said, because it’s close to Charlotte Convention Center, near hotels, The Mint Museum and other attractions.

Exotica, which Vangara described as casual and family oriented, keeps meals affordable with tandoori meals and entrees for less than $20. Tandoori meals are marinated meats cooked in a high-heat tandoor, clay oven.

“We want to make good Indian food accessible to more people,” he said.

Expanding from grocery to takeout to dining in

The Thotakuri brothers opened Triveni Supermarket four years ago at 300 S Polk St. in Pineville. Among groceries stocked at the south Asian store are spices, hala meat, plus an in-house bakery and ready-to-eat homemade Indian food.

Vangara joined the brothers opening Triveni Express in 2019 in University City. The Indo-Chinese grocer expanded the grocery concept, adding a fast-casual, takeout restaurant with a menu of popular southern Indian street food such as Dosa, Pakora and Mirchi bajji. The restaurant also serves breakfast all day.

The restaurant concept thrived during the pandemic, Vangara said, which led the trio to expand with their first full-service restaurant and bar.

For Vangara, who is senior vice president of AIG Insurance, the restaurant feeds his passion for cooking and desire to feed other people.

“We’re foodies and always look for nice Indian places to eat,” he said. “We are more on the traditional side of presenting and tasting food.”

The uptown restaurant serves “homey food that can cater to various areas in India, more pan-Indian with minor twists,” Vangara said.

And for the lunch crowd, there’s a tasting menu with meals like kabobs for grab and go.

What to expect

The Exotica menu includes popular Indian dishes including:

▪ Tandoori lamb chops, lamb chops marinated in yogurt, vinegar and spices chargrilled in a tandoor.

▪ Butter Chicken, a creamy blend of tomato and spices with chunks of boneless chicken.

▪ Chicken Tikka Masala, boneless chicken tossed in a tomato and cashew-based gravy.

▪ Kale Pakora Chat, battered and fried kale and lotus root served over a green peas chat.

Vangara recommends Masala Margarita, Smoked Old Fashioned and Gin Fizz from the cocktail menu.

The restaurant has capacity to seat over 80 people in the dining area and at the bar, and can accommodate private parties.

Restaurant hours are 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5:30-9:30 p.m. on weekdays, with extended hours on Fridays and Saturday.