Indian cuisine expanding in Longmont, Fort Collins

Indian cuisine’s complex flavors are spicing up the restaurant scene in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, with one new eatery coming to Longmont this summer and another expanding to a second Fort Collins location.

Sheel Joshi, who has owned restaurants in Los Angeles and Houston and won recognition in Michelin’s 2009 guide, is expecting to open Longmont Indian Kitchen at 838 Coffman St. “by June-ish or the first week in July,” he said. Meanwhile, Saiprasad Palusa, who has operated a Bawarchi Indian Restaurant franchise at 1611 S. College Ave in Fort Collins for the past 10 years, will open a new location inside the Hilton Garden Inn at 2821 E Harmony Road.

Joshi, with a 44-year career in the food world, owned restaurants called Surya – meaning ‘the sun” – in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and West Hollywood before moving to Houston and opening one there.

But those restaurants had a seating capacity of 75 to 80, he said. “I wanted to have a smaller space, and my wife and I decided on a different lifestyle approach. We love the mountains and outdoors.”

The couple “looked around Boulder for the longest time,” he said, with leasing agents repeatedly offering him venues of 2,000 square feet or more. “But I kept saying, no, I want something smaller. As it ended up, we loved Longmont — the city itself, quaint, with a nice mix of people.”

They found the ideal space there at Ninth Avenue and Coffman Street, a 1,300-square-foot building that had most recently been home to Professional Staffing Solutions but that had housed a Little Caesar’s pizzeria in the 1980s.

“There was a walk-in cooler and a counter still inside,” Joshi said, “so this was perfect, a dream come true. I always wanted a small restaurant.”

He began the process of architectural plans and permitting five months ago, adding that “the City of Longmont’s been phenomenal to work with.” 

Contracting with Louisville-based DAJ Architecture and Longmont-based Sun Construction, he’s been overseeing renovation of the building, he said. “Now we’re just waiting for the final stamp of approval from Planning and Zoning for a full liquor license.”

The restaurant will be able to seat 18 people but will mostly focus on takeout and delivery, Joshi said. Although the space is small, he added, the flavors will be big.

“Indian food is an art form,” Joshi said. “It’s not just curry I’m dishing up. I don’t do things like momos, and I’ve never done a buffet. It’s strictly north Indian, and I do that well.”

Except, that is, for chicken Mangalorean, “the only southern India-inspired dish that I have” and the dish that put him on the Food Network map.

“I won a lot of accolades with their Best of Ethnic Eats competition,” he said. “People said ‘we loved the tikka masala until we tried the Mangalorean.’ It’s flavored with mustard seed toasted in a sauce, curry leaves and red chilis burned until they’re almost blackened.”

He also won’t ask customers how spicy they want their dish.

“I don’t do spice level 1 to 5,” Joshi said. “I’ve always wondered about chili meters. How do you add or subtract spice out of a sauce? No. I cook every dish to its merit.”

He’ll employ “two people up front and four in the back — including me. I’m always at work. I’m not one of those absentee chefs.”

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays, opening at 11:30 a.m. and closing at 8:30 p.m.

“I’m done with the late hours,” Joshi said. “By 9 I’ll be looking at you and saying it’s time to go home.

“This is on my terms this time,” he said. “I’m 60. This is my final curtain, and I want to do it right.”

Longmont already has more than a half dozen restaurants serving fare from the Subcontinent, but Joshi said he’s not worried about competition.

“I came from a city of saturation,” he said. “When I came to Los Angeles in 1984, there were maybe two Indian restaurants. Now there’s probably 400.”

Many of his Longmont competitors tilt toward the Nepalese cuisine, he said, so the northern Indian niche is comfortable for him.

“Indian food was once at the bottom of the totem pole,” Joshi said, “but now people have gotten more educated.”

According to data from market research firm Datassential, 115 new Indian restaurants opened across the nation in December 2024 alone, up from just 54 in September 2018. The Pew Research Center says the population of natives of India in the United States has increased by roughly 3.1 million, growing about 174% since 2000. And the Indian Restaurant Association of America identified hyper-regional flavors as one of its top 2025 Indian restaurant trends, as chefs dig into the hundreds of local cuisines that dot the subcontinent.

Second Bawarchi in Fort Collins

Palusa is counting on that boom in popularity to open his second Bawarchi Indian Restaurant location in Fort Collins, which his wife, Sunita, will run while he manages the College Avenue eatery. Bawarchi offers authentic Hyderabadi flavors rather than typical “tourist” Indian menu options found in many U.S. restaurants.

“This new location is strategically chosen to serve the growing communities in southeast Fort Collins and nearby Timnath, where there is currently limited access to Indian dining options,” Palusa said. “We believe this expansion reflects both the continued growth of Northern Colorado and the increasing demand for diverse culinary experiences in the region. Our goal is to bring the same quality, authenticity and hospitality that our customers have come to expect over the past decade.”

Palusa said a tandoori oven was installed Monday at the new location, which he said is likely to open by next week, and will also offer continental breakfast to cater to the hotel guests. “We are keeping American food also.”

The restaurant will seat around 60 diners, plus 110 more in the banquet hall he and his wife will also manage.

The Texas-based Bawarchi chain has more than 50 franchised restaurants across the country, he said.

Palusa also is not surprised by the uptick in popularity of Indian cuisine.

“Many people are traveling to India, so they are trying it and liking it coming back and spreading the word,” he said. “It’s also healthy, with ingredients like turmeric and ginger.

“But mostly it’s globalization,” he said. “The world is now one.”

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