Neeta Marwah has had a lot of ups and downs throughout her culinary career, but it’s safe to say she’s riding a high this summer.
Widely regarded as a trailblazer for bringing South Asian cuisine to the area, the former owner of Rasoi has started a new business venture with a Noodlebox location at The Shoppes on TransCanada.
Marwah and her team at Noodlebox opened their doors last Thursday.
Since then, the service has been non-stop.
“We keep selling out of stuff – the lineups have been constant,” she says. “We’ve actually had to put out a ‘sold out’ board every day by 6:15 because we just haven’t been able to keep up. We’re amazed at how the community has accepted it.”
Born near New Delhi, Marwah originally began making and selling homecooked dishes out of her east-end home back in 2009 – a time when there were practically no Indian cuisine options in town.
She later opened up Rasoi, a take-out storefront in what’s now Antico Ristoranté. Marwah eventually relocated the business to a dine-in establishment in the downtown core.
But in 2020, the pandemic changed everything for the restaurateur.
“I had to close the kitchen because of COVID,” she says. “After we shut down, I was just catering to friends and family, weddings, and baby showers. But eventually I was ready for something new.”
After doing some research and collaborating with friends and business partners Maulik Jariwala and Nilay Patel, the trio headed to Vancouver in 2022 to scope out the Noodlebox chain, which originally started in British Columbia more than 20 years ago.
Before she knew it, Marwah became a franchisee.
“We actually opened up our first location in Barrie this past May, so the Sault is our second Noodlebox now,” she says. “By spring of 2024, we want to be in a third location. We’re looking into other northern Ontario towns like Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, and Thunder Bay.”
Just less than a week after opening the establishment that specializes in Southeast Asian street food, Marwah has been blown away by the community’s response.
“When I initially started at home, I had backorders then too,” she says. “But this time, it was quite surprising for me. We’ve had so many cultures who have recently moved in after COVID, and everyone in Sault Ste. Marie has been so open to the different cuisines. It makes me really happy.”
“We haven’t even had third-party deliveries like UberEats yet. With the constant crowd we’re getting we’ll probably have to delay it for a couple weeks.”
Marwah was joined by friends, family, and business colleagues at the restaurant on Monday for an official ribbon cutting ceremony. Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and MP Terry Sheehan even stopped by to help celebrate the occasion.
“At the age of 90, my grandma flew alone from India to be here for the opening,” she says. “We were so blessed to have her here. My husband Rajat and my kids Ahaan and Arsh have been so supportive. I was going through a rough time after I closed down Rasoi. If those three hadn’t pushed me, I honestly wouldn’t have been doing this.”
While she’s taken a step back from her own cooking to focus on Noodlebox, Marwah says the early success of the new business has given her lots of time to be thankful.
“I’ve built so many relationships in this town – it’s like a family to me,” she says. “The customers who I’ve known for so many years, and the many friends I’ve made from this work, is very precious to me.”