LIFE

Indian restaurant could be a first for Rehoboth

Patricia Talorico
The News Journal

Indigo is a new Rehoboth Avenue eatery opening soon that will offer Indian cuisine. It might be the first Indian restaurant for Rehoboth Beach in recent years, if not the entire resort area.

In fact, it's hard to name another Indian restaurant in all of Sussex County.

Indigo is a new Indian restaurant coming soon to 44 Rehoboth Ave. in Rehoboth Beach. It might be the first Indian restaurant for the resort area.

The restaurant at 44 Rehoboth Ave. is taking over the spot formerly occupied by The Dough Roller, a pizza and pancakes restaurant.

Indigo owner Raghu Kumar says his family already operates India's, a well-received Indian restaurant founded by his father Suraj Kumar that's been based in Annapolis, Maryland, since 1992. The family has been searching for a second restaurant location for some time.

"We're excited to be here," Kumar says of Rehoboth. "We've been looking around for a while. We finally got the location we wanted."

Carol Everhart, President and CEO of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, says she doesn't know of another Indian restaurant in the resort area.

It's "another choice," she says of Indigo. "We love choice."

STORY: El Diablo Burritos expands into Pike Creek

STORY: Lobster rolls a hit at the beach

Rehoboth, the state's largest beach resort, has long been known for its bustling and diverse dining scene. It's estimated more than 3.5 million people annually visit the 1-square-mile downtown area, according to the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, and 44 percent of Sussex County visitors have household incomes over $75,000.

Among its choices, the resort area has had Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Russian, British, French, Spanish, Brazilian and Greek eateries, but few, if any, Indian restaurant options in recent years.

Kumar says he is waiting for a few permits, and renovations for Indigo should begin soon. "We're doing a lot of cosmetic work. We want it to have a nice ambiance." He's hoping to open before Memorial Day. "We're working very, very hard."

Indigo will have about 90 seats and serve lunch and dinner. Kumar isn't sure yet if it will offer a buffet.

He says he plans to serve mostly Northern Indian dishes, like butter chicken and chicken tikka masala, but will also have dishes from Central and Southern India. There will be vegan and vegetarian offerings, along with beer and wine. He is planning on building a bar and will be probably add cocktails after the restaurant opens. Indigo will be a year-round establishment with daily hours from about 11:30 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m.

Kumar says he decided to look in the Rehoboth area to open a second restaurant because many of his customers in Annapolis "retired to Rehoboth, or they have secondary houses here. They had good things to say about Rehoboth and said 'It would be nice to see you there.' "

After a visit, he was immediately drawn to Rehoboth's "nice character. It has a nice charm. I grew up in Annapolis and I wanted to go somewhere similar."

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico