Couple to open Indian food market in Port south side

PORT WASHINGTON residents Thavasi Renga Thavasi and his wife Rajeswari Thavasi stood outside the former BMO Harris Bank building on the city’s south side that they have purchased and plan to turn into an Indian food market that offers take-out food. The couple said they may add a restaurant if their market does well. Photo by Sam Arendt
An Indian food market that will offer not only ingredients to make ethnic foods but also prepared meals is expected to open on Port Washington’s south side in September.
The Port Washington Plan Commission last week approved plans for the Asian Indian grocery store, which will be created in the former BMO Harris Bank building at 1590 Harris Dr.
“I’m very excited we have your store and services in Port Washington,” Mayor Ted Neitzke said after the vote.
The market and grocery are to be opened by Thavasi Renga Thavasi and his wife Rajeswari Thavasi, who have lived in Port since 2013.
Renga Thavasi said his wife has wanted to open a restaurant for some time. She’s a talented home cook who has gotten rave reviews from friends and neighbors for her foods.
The couple decided to reach for her dreams but start out small with a grocery and prepared foods.
“If people like the food and things go well, we can convert it,” he said. “The take-out kitchen is a starting point.”
Port, Renga Thavasi said, is a good location for the market, which he said will draw people from Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties who otherwise have to travel to Green Bay or Milwaukee to find many of the items they plan to carry at the market.
Even locally, he noted, there is a significant population of Indian families who would likely patronize the market.
Indian food, he said, generally uses at least 10 ingredients that aren’t always easy to source.
Renga Thavasi, who was born and raised in India, said the couple looked at leasing a building in Mequon or Cedarburg before deciding to buy the former bank building, which is near their home, for $169,500.
“We said let’s give this a try,” he said.
In addition to the 2,600-square-foot building, the couple also bought an adjacent 1.3-acre lot, giving them more than enough room for expansion if things go well, Renga Thavasi said, noting they could convert the bank building to a restaurant and use the lot to create a market.
“We have a lot of options,” he said. “This is an ideal location for the right price.”
The couple aren’t strangers to the food business. Renga Thavasi noted that his wife’s family owned a grocery in India.
“The restaurant will be a new venture for us,” he said. “We’re not scared.”
His wife, he said, has been experimenting with her cooking, getting feedback from friends and family to ensure the food they offer at the market “is not too spicy but still tasty for American families.”
“We’re so excited,” he said. “The people of Ozaukee County are very welcoming.”
The former bank property was developed in 2008, but the bank left in 2017 and the space has been vacant ever since, Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, said.
The existing drive-through lane and structure will remain in place, Harris said, although they won’t be used.
The couple plan to fill in the drive-up window, Renga Thavasi said.
The market is expected to operate from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends.
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