Meet Komal Choong of Swagat Fine Indian Cuisine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Komal Choong.

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
This is not my personal story but the story of my father, Gurdev Choong, who has shared this with us many times. My dad’s story begins in the fields of Punjab (an agricultural region in the northern Indian subcontinent). After the passing of his father at a young age, he spent his teenage and early adulthood years tilling the land and looking after crops with his 3 brothers. Work on the farm was so time-consuming that he quit school after grade 9. At some point, he realized there wasn’t a future for him and his family with limited land and started looking for other work. That’s when he became a seaman, transporting cargo between India, East Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean.

Along the way, he also worked as a construction worker in Dubai (well before its glitz and glamour) and a farm laborer in Greece (picking oranges and raising hogs). After many years of hard work and struggle, he had an opportunity to come to the US and began a new life in Boston. Soon after settling in Boston, his brothers joined him and began working at various restaurants, from fast food to fine dining. They eventually saved enough money to open their small restaurant in Union Square called India Palace. The brothers eventually left Boston for Kansas City, opening India Palace (Overland Park, KS) in 1995. Continued success led to several more restaurants in the family, including Bombay Cafe (Overland Park, KS) and India Palace (Lawrence, KS). Over the years, talented individuals who worked at our restaurants went on to open several of their Indian restaurants across the Kansas City metro area.

All of this history and work culminated in the foundation and launch of Swagat in 2002, which opened in a small strip mall off Barry Road. Swagat developed an exceptional reputation for itself and has become one of the finest Indian restaurants in the central region of the US. A couple of years later, my father had an opportunity to move the restaurant into the all-new Zona Rosa shopping center. He embraced it fully and has never looked back since.

You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Early struggles were mentioned in answer to the last question. But to answer this question in a more recent context, restaurants are never a smooth road, and Swagat is no exception. The early transition into Zona Rosa was a bold move as a small business, but the restaurant built a solid customer base, all organically. I am trying to remember the last time we spent money on advertising since our customers have always done that for us. The pandemic was one of the largest struggles we’ve faced in the business, with reduced seating capacity and rapid growth in online and delivery orders. The restaurant wasn’t designed for this dramatic shift, and we had to implement a lot of changes to get it running smoothly again, especially after everything went back to normal and we started to see even higher levels of demand than ever before. In the last year, we’ve implemented all sorts of new systems and processes and put together the strongest team we’ve ever had. Keeping a popular ethnic restaurant running is no walk in the park, and we’ve also had to make things easier to run daily. This includes closing every Tuesday to give everyone, including my father, a well-deserved break from work.

As you know, we’re big fans of Swagat Fine Indian Cuisine. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Swagat is a fine-dining Indian restaurant in the Northland of KC, serving popular dishes from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. Some of our most popular dishes include Chicken Tikka Masala or Butter Chicken, best served with a side of aromatic Basmati Rice and Garlic Nan. Earlier this year, we brought back our popular lunch buffet through which you can try various dishes and build familiarity with our food. They say there are only two types of people in this world: those who love Indian food and those who haven’t tried Indian food. We remain steadfast in serving the best flavors of Indian cuisine in the region and always try to make it a little easier for those unfamiliar with Indian cuisine to try our food. We know you’ll love it!

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I can’t speak for my father, but I vividly remember visiting our restaurants with dad. Even though I didn’t take part in the operations, I closely observed everything, including how you delight customers, and that has stuck with me to date.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://swagatkc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swagat.indian.kc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swagat.indian
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/swagat-fine-indian-cuisine-kansas-city-2

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