Tun-Du-Ree has opened a second location in Tampa, the newest at 3409 W. Bay to Bay Blvd. in Tampa.
The
new franchise, located between Starbucks and Louis Pappas restaurant,
joins the existing location at 1506 W Kennedy Blvd. The
restaurant features a menu of Indian fare that includes vegetarian, vegan and meat dishes, appetizers, snacks, wraps and salads.
"We
offer 10 different curries," says owner Saravana "Pat" Bhava. "If
you're in India, you will cross many different cultures -- food,
clothing. It's hard to do the whole country justice when it comes to
food. That's why most Indian menus are 40 pages. That's how it's been
for ages here. We thought we'd break it down and choose the best from
each region in India. Half of our meals are vegetarian, some are vegan.
And the other half contains meat. Each dish is prepared from scratch
every day.
"We keep it simple so choosing from
the menu is not a life-changing decision," he continues. "We try to
make it an everyday food at an affordable price. We want it to be a
mainstream food."
Bhava explains that the
brand name is a play on the Indian word "tandoori" spelled out
phonetically. And the business has grown very quickly.
"We started in a small trailer in February 2007 by the
MacDill Air Force Base
and franchised the whole concept about six months ago," explains Bhava.
"I was a fighter pilot and came to Tampa to get my commercial pilot's
license. But this is something I wanted to do all my life so I went for
it. I bought a trailer and began serving food. My family thought I was
crazy. But they're really happy now."
Writer:
Missy KavanaughSource Pat Bhava, Tun-Du-Ree
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