Last Week's Meeting
Sometimes, what challenges us can help us to grow, says Raji Sankar, co-CEO of the new Choolaah Indian BBQ restaurant opening soon in Boardman.
Raji says she can relate to cities such as Youngstown because steelmaking was the backbone of her hometown in India. She earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from VNIT India and a masters in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Science. Those interests gave way to her passion for serving good, healthy food. Launching Choolaah has been “a series of blessings,” she said.
She co-founded Wholesome International in 2004, a multi-concept restaurant development company, which owns and operates Choolaah and franchised Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurants. A business plan for Choolaah, written in 2003, was shelved because she lacked restaurant experience. Buying into the Five Guys franchise gave her that exposure, put her marketing background to work (she earned her MBA at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh) and brought with it many lessons, such as identifying and upholding a business owner’s own values.
By 2012, Wholesome International had 12 Five Guys franchises, and Raji was able to revisit her plans for Choolaah. The first restaurant opened in Beachwood, near Cleveland, in 2015. Choolaah uses traditional Indian cooking techniques and fast-casual ordering, along with responsible ingredient sourcing. Choolaah makes its own spice blends, serves antibiotic-free chicken, and has menu options for people who follow vegetarian, vegan, paleo and gluten-free diets. At Choolaah, you can “feel good about what you put in your body,” she said.
Choolaah Indian BBQ is located at 1051 Boardman-Poland Road, in between Starbucks and Mission BBQ. Rotarians who attended the weekly meeting received information about a VIP Preview Tasting Event from Aug. 9 to 13 and again Aug. 15, which required online registration.
Aspasia Lyras Bernacki receives her round badge.
More pictures from last week's meeting here.
Next Week's Meeting
Member Mike Latessa will give a presentation on Membership Month.