Zayka Indian Cuisine is set to open in early May at 105 E. Franklin St., where the Basecamp bar and restaurant was formerly located.
The owner of Zayka, Keshav Kalia, also owns Zayka Indian Cuisine in Raleigh and opened Chaat Mandi in Morrisville in 2022. He and his brother, Giteshwar Kalia, run the three businesses together and began their careers in the hospitality industry in India.
After completing his bachelor's and master's degrees in hotel management and catering, Kalia moved to the United States and began his restaurant career in 2003.
“We're doing this catering thing and the restaurant thing back from India,” he said. “So it's like our family business.”
Kalia said the brothers decided to open a second Zayka location in Chapel Hill because they received high demand in catering orders and weekend traffic from students and faculty at UNC and Duke University. They are excited to be close to campus, and are curating their menu toward student budgets as well as aiming to create an environment that encourages student employment.
Renovations for the restaurant are roughly halfway completed, Kalia said. He said the main areas of remodeling are the kitchen and dining area. The restaurant is waiting on pending permits from the Town of Chapel Hill and will continue construction following their approval of dimensions and final inspections.
Some new additions to the restaurant will include a “live kitchen,” meaning guests can see their food being prepared through glass, and a delivery system for takeout orders.
“The main purpose is to serve people quality food with a nice presentation, and to make sure we're doing something different than any other restaurant, especially the Indian restaurants in the Triangle area,” Kalia said.
Kalia said the Franklin Street location was the best one they saw in their search for space in Chapel Hill. After meeting with former Basecamp owner Ramesh Dahal, the brothers made an offer for the location.
