When Mr. Surmukh Singh moved to Louisiana, he discovered a profound lack of authentic North Indian food in this region. He spun the idea of opening an authentic, homestyle Punjabi restaurant, with his friend, Mr. Paul. Mr. Paul liked Mr. Singh’s ambitious idea.

Since that moment, Mr. Paul and Mr. Singh worked tirelessly to accomplish their mission of opening a great restaurant for their patrons to enjoy authentic North Indian cuisine away from home. The two joined hands as co-founders and opened their first authentic North Indian restaurant in a gas station — just like a traditional Indian dhaba.

Mr. Singh invited Chef Negi, who was based in New York, to assist in this venture. Chef Negi had experience working as a celebrity chef at famous North Indian restaurants in India and in New York. Even though Chef Negi had faith in the concept, he could not move to Louisiana immediately. He agreed to train the team working at the restaurant for four months before returning to New York. Finally, in 2021, Chef Negi came back to Louisiana and joined Mr. Singh and Mr. Paul in this joint venture.

Mr. Singh met Chef Sohn while attending a New York wedding reception. Chef Sohn, who was catering the event, impressed Mr. Singh with his authentic North Indian cooking. He invited Chef Sohn to join him in this endeavor. Chef Sohn moved to Louisiana in 2020 and has been a part of the team ever since.

Together, these four friends and two Chefs formed the Punjabi Dhaba team. As partners, they established themselves as the best source for authentic homestyle North Indian cuisine in the entire Gulf South.