Veggies, Spice Make Market Quite Nice

Sonal Mashruwala has a passion for chatting.

She talks to her customers, to vendors and to a reporter visiting her business, Ganesh Market & Chaat Cafe, 6204 N. Armenia Ave.

It was through her talks that she ended up owning her shop. She told the previous owner she wanted to own a grocery store, and he sold it to her and her husband, Achyut, in 1996.

The Mashruwalas started by selling standard convenience store fare - beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets - and food products from their native India.

Two years later, they sold solely Indian food at the 2,400-square-foot building because they saw growth in the area's Indian population. The 2006 American Community Survey estimated 19,000 people of Indian descent were living in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Sonal Mashruwala turned to her love of cooking Indian food and began selling a few meals in 2006. She expanded to an all-vegetarian Indian buffet that is served seven days a week.

Every morning she and her employees arrive with a few ideas for the buffet menu. In the kitchen, they cook home-style dishes and concentrate on variety, including Gujarati, Punjabi, South Indian and a mix from other Indian regions.

Mashruwala said she cooks vegetarian because of the rise of the health-conscious consumer and because she is a vegetarian. In her home state of Gujarat - the home state of Mahatma Ghandi, she emphasizes - about 90 percent of the population is vegetarian.

Recently, the buffet menu included: cauliflower subji with green peas, green bell pepper, cilantro, cumin and cashew; dum aloo made with baby potatoes and curry; mung bean soup with garlic, green onions, cilantro and cumin; basmati white rice with peas and carrots; stuffed eggplant with bell pepper, tomatoes and sweet onions; and buttermilk served with yogurt, ice, salt and cumin.

Don Ryan of Tampa first saw the restaurant while driving by and has been a regular customer for a year. He said he has eaten at all the Indian restaurants in Hillsborough County, except for one that recently opened in Brandon, and places Ganesh Market & Chaat Cafe among his top three.

"The food is delicious," Ryan said. "There is a lot of variety. It is not the same thing every day."

Jean Caldicott of Tampa has been shopping at Ganesh since before it served food. She calls the vegetarian meals a "big bonus."

"It is nice and fresh," Caldicott said. "It is vegetarian. That is one thing I like about them in particular. And they are very sweet people."

The Mashruwalas moved to Tampa in 1992 and managed convenience stores until 1996. Achyut, 41, is a personal trainer; Sonal, 40, is dedicated to the business.

She emphasizes customer service and changing merchandise to please the customers.

The store sells flour, beans, rice, oil, vegetables, and canned and frozen products, as well as soaps and other items from India.

But the buffet has struck a chord.

"If it is good food at a reasonable price, people will definitely come," Sonal Mashruwala said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Ganesh Market & Chaat Cafe

WHERE: 6204 N. Armenia Ave.

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The vegetarian buffet is $6.95, excluding beverages, and is served from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends.

CALL: (813) 873-8708