SALT LAKE CITY — Nine restaurants in Utah feature in the inaugural Michelin Guide for the Southwest region. One of the “recommended” restaurants in Salt Lake City bounced back after having to move locations and reopen after a seven-month closure.
"It’s home cooking, you’re welcome to my home basically,” said Paramjit Kaur, owner and manager of ‘Star of India.’
The restaurant used to be on North Temple and Redwood Road for a long time. But this time two years ago, Kaur said there was a break-in and critical wiring was stolen, so they didn’t have power and couldn’t open.
Kaur said since the building is part of the Larry H. Miller Group’s ‘Power District,’ and is scheduled to be demolished, the owners told them they would not pay for the repairs.
So, they had no place to have a restaurant. After being closed for 7 months, they found a spot on Main St. and have been there ever since.
"She has worked so hard, getting to this location and building it up, and getting all the customers back,” said Cindy Stewart, a regular at the restaurant.
On Thursday, Kaur said she was surprised when she found out they were a Michelin-recommended restaurant.
"I still can’t stop crying; it still makes me emotional,” Kaur added. "You don’t expect this when you work so hard, when you're here every day and put your effort and life into something, and then you see the outcome of it; it makes it fun.”
Some groups of people came into the restaurant on Thursday after seeing the news and to check out the food. But Stewart came in with a bouquet to congratulate Kaur and enjoy the food.
"The wonderful food, the consistency of the good food, good service, friendly service, it’s fantastic; we've always been impressed with what they have here,” Stewart added.
Kaur hopes this is just the beginning, as ‘Star of India’ continues to celebrate Indian food in Salt Lake City and bring more people through their doors.
"Get up, start all over again, and then do it again and again and again, and then at the end, the magic will happen,” Kaur added.
