Turmeric Indian Cafe Planned for Yankee Hill

Mykonos Gyro & Cafe. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva.

When Paramjit Kaur took over as owner of Royal India in 2017, she completed aesthetic upgrades, expanded the menu and — most notably — led the southside restaurant through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, almost six years later, Kaur is eyeing a Yankee Hill building for a possible sibling restaurant. She recently submitted a license application for Turmeric Indian Cafe & Bar at 1014 N. Van Buren St., the former site of Mykonos Gyro & Cafe.

The two-story building has been vacant since the Greek restaurant’s closure in December 2018.

The site of the upcoming restaurant is in close proximity to Metro Market and numerous high-density residential buildings including Yankee Hill Apartments, Ascent and Juneau Village Towers. It will likely benefit from heavy foot traffic in the area, as well as high visibility to vehicles along a bustling stretch of N. Van Buren St.

Another Indian restaurant, Bollywood Grill, is located just around the corner. The surrounding neighborhood is home to a sizeable population of Indian residents and the U.S. Census Bureau reports the census tract as having one of the highest Asian populations in the city.

Throughout the coming months, Kaur is planning to complete a series of commercial alterations to the building including installing a new bar and other interior updates, according to the license application.

No construction documents have yet been submitted for the building.

Before opening, Kaur will need Common Council approval for her liquor license, as well as an occupancy permit for the address. If all goes well, Turmeric Indian Cafe & Bar is expected to open this May.

Once open, the restaurant and bar expects 80% of its revenue to come from food sales, with the remaining 20% from alcohol sales. The business also plans to offer catering and delivery, as well as sidewalk dining, according to the license application.

Kaur has not yet released a menu for the new restaurant. The menu at her Royal India features a wide variety of both meat and vegetarian dishes, as well as vegan options. Popular menu items include samosas, tikka masala and fish pakora.

The menu at Turmeric will likely feature vegan and vegetarian options, though the license application notes plans to also serve dishes that incorporate milk, cheese, meat and fish.

The restaurant is expected to seat up to 50 guests.

Kaur did not respond to a request for comment by the time of this article’s publication.