On July 1, Niverville’s Pizza Pizza restaurant changed hands. While the franchise continues to serve the community from the same location, pizza now only represents half of the restaurant’s offers.
Flavors of India boasts a full menu of traditional Indian takeout options from the same kitchen. The new proprietor, Harshul Monga, is excited to introduce his family’s favourite foods to the rural southeast.
For Monga, the Niverville eatery is his first foray into restaurant ownership, although he has years of experience managing a Pizza Pizza franchise while living in Toronto.
Monga lives with his wife in Winnipeg—but if the business goes well, they hope to eventually make Niverville home.
“I’ve been cooking Indian food for the last 11 years for myself and my family,” Monga says.
His sister has joined him in the business on a full-time basis. His wife is a nurse but comes out in the evenings and on off-days to help out.
Monga’s family hails from the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab, thus Flavors of India has a distinctly Punjabi influence. The name was created by Monga and isn’t a corporate brand or franchise.
The menu offers 11 traditional appetizers and 10 main courses as well as a variety of sides, desserts, and combo meals.
He’s even complemented the pizza side of his business with four different Indian creations including butter chicken pizza and tandoori paneer pizza.
As a first-time restaurant owner, he says he’s catching on quickly.
“We’re still struggling,” Monga says with a laugh. “We’re figuring it out. Every day new challenges come, but my family is my support. Without them, I couldn’t do it.”
Niverville has a great small-town vibe, he says, so he jumped at the opportunity when the local Pizza Pizza franchise went up for sale.
“I’ve already had so much love from the community,” Monga says. “I didn’t advertise anywhere except the [Facebook] community group and people started ordering from there right away.”
Just weeks into business, Monga’s already considering an expansion to include sit-down dining. With his neighbour Negash Coffee soon moving to a new location, opportunity is already upon him. Still, he says, he’ll need to be assured that the community is ready to support his endeavour.
“We’ll give the takeout and delivery a shot first,” Monga says. “If it goes good and people want me to open a dine in, I’ll do that.”
Monga and his team will be hosting their first customer appreciation day on July 31. Residents should stay tuned to the local Facebook pages for more information.