Namaste Bistro Sackville is getting closer to opening day.
Preetpal Sohi, one of the owners of the new Indian restaurant at 24 Mallard Drive in the former Pizza Delight building, says that he should be ready to announce the opening date any day now.
Namaste Bistro Sackville will feature a wide-ranging menu with favourite Indian dishes from across India, as well as Canadian offerings.
This is the fifth restaurant opened by Sohi and his partner Surendra Semwal. The partners started with Taste of India in Charlottetown in 2017. “Our first New Brunswick location was opened in 2020 in Miramichi,” Sohi told CHMA. “And then we have two locations in Fredericton,” including a seasonal restaurant at the Fredericton Golf Course, opened last year. “And this year we are opening Namaste Bistro Sackville, which we are very excited about.”
Sohi says the partners felt the Mallard Street building was a perfect location for a new edition of Namaste. After visiting Sackville a couple of times, Sohi says he “fell in love with the [town], Mount Allison University, and also the people and the community here.”
Sohi says getting the business ready to open has been a “great experience… It was great working with local tradesmen and meeting new people in this community,” says Sohi. “The whole process was very, very enjoyable, I would say.”
However the partners did hit some delays, mostly to do with changes to renovation plans. After starting a partial remodelling of the former Pizza Delight, the pair decided more extensive renovations were in order to meet their new vision for the building.
The restaurant now has a bar serving cocktails, wine and draught beer with 10 bar stool seats, which look through windows into an open concept kitchen. Sohi says the restaurant has capacity to seat up to 75 people, including a semi-private room ideal for up to 20 people. There are also future plans to build a patio outside.
Sohi says the restaurant team will consist of 15-20 full and part time workers. “I would say we lucked out in terms of hiring,” says Sohi. “There was a lot of, and there still is a lot of excitement about our restaurant, and that also drew attention from job seekers.”
Sohi says the restaurant should be open by the end of this month, and as soon as an opening date is decided, the team will announce it on social media under Namaste Bistro Sackville.
