Star of India opens its doors

by Casey Clapper
Staff Writer

Yesterday was the grand opening of Athens’ newest ethnic cuisine restaurant.

Star of India, 128 W. Union St., opened its door last week. The restaurant took the place of The Elbow Room, which agreed with the city to close last October because of complications with zoning regulations.

Star of India owner Amar Jit said he was glad to finally have the restaurant open.

“I’m happy with the turnout,” he said. “It’s busy, but not too bad. (The customers) have been waiting a long time.”

Star of India is a family-run business, but Jit said he will hire additional employees if business is good. The restaurant is open for lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and dinner 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Jit owns another Indian restaurant, Sitar of India, in Columbus. The menu for Star of India has the same items as the Columbus restaurant, but some items are $1-$3 cheaper for the Athens market.

Athens resident Dan Dreifort was one of Star of India’s first customers.

“Finally, authentic ethnic food,” he said. “I think (the food) is wonderful. I had the buffet, so I had about four or five different dishes, and they were all really good. The service was great. They were very friendly.”

Jit is leasing the building from Ron De Luca, vice president of University Rentals. The lease is five years, with the option of five more.

De Luca said he chose an Indian restaurant for the property because he and his brother, Dan De Luca, wanted something that was unique and would not get lost in the shuffle of restaurants like another sub shop or calzone shop would.

“We wanted something that could benefit the city by offering the opportunity for students to experiment with a different type of food, and to give those that already appreciate Indian food the same chance,” he said. “Hopefully, the mixture of the two (will) result in a tenant that is going to be there for a while.”