The dream for Shivani was always an Indian Tea Shop. It was something she had found a gap in the market for and what she had wanted to create since she was a teenager. However, like many embarking on their careers, her aspiration took a backseat when she began working at the BBC’s Asian Network at just 17.
Fast forward to 2016 and the stars aligned for both Ajay and Shivani, their shared dream to open a restaurant in their hometown of Moseley became a reality.
They chose the name Zindiya for their venture, a meaningful blend inspired by their daughter Diya, whose name translates to “light,” and the Hindi word “Zindagi,” meaning “life.”
They had grown up in Moseley and wanted a place amongst the busy independents in Moseley Village. They had their eyes on a site that had once been a bakery but had been boarded up for some time. Her husband met the landlord by chance and as soon as the pair went to visit the site they fell in love with it. They could see themselves there as soon as they walked in and had an immediate and strong vision for what their tea shop, come casual dining space, could become.
In February 2017 Zindiya was born. They knew exactly what they wanted and set about designing the interior in 2016 when they signed the lease, to reflect their experiences, the dynamism and the colours of India. If you haven’t had the pleasure of going to Zindiya, you’ll feel this as soon as you walk in, it really is a wonderful expression of Shivani and her husband’s culture and life experiences. The menu was and still stays small, it is made up of the food they love and ate growing up and their customers say that it’s like nothing they’ve ever tried before. This is down to the careful selection of dishes and authentic recipes and home-style eating where small plates are shared.
A year after opening, the husband and wife team started catering for events including the Moseley Festivals, Mostly Jazz and Moseley Folk Festivals held just down the road from the restaurant, as well as trading a Digbeth Dining Club events. They loved doing the outdoor events but it became difficult to predict numbers, so they moved their focus to private events and weddings.
Seven years on, they are still firmly rooted in Moseley; they have a strong team and a network of suppliers that they have worked with for many years which includes BioPak. They use BioPak because of their sustainability credentials and have been on Deliveroo for some time – who, as it happens, work alongside BioPak, allowing them to hit a sustainability goal when it comes to packaging.
Their vision and ethos as a business is firmly customer focused. From the interior to menu design, how they’ve selected their team to the way they celebrate their achievements, customer experience is always at the heart of this. In fact for their 8th birthday, they ran a competition with prizes that included having dinner with Shivani at Zindiya, this was hugely successful and initiatives like this add even more to the relationships that have been built over the years. They have seen weddings, milestones being celebrated, have captured customer’s love stories – Zindiya know their customers, they go out of their way to make them happy, and this makes all the difference.
It was always their dream to open in Moseley as they grew up there but the area has changed and has become more of a destination now. They have local guests that come in regularly from across the Midlands and people who travel thousands of miles to come and see them, but over time food and drink chains have popped up across the high street which makes things more challenging. However, Shivani always has a really positive outlook and knows that the business is going to continue to succeed.
“Eight years of trading and we can’t figure out a trend, we don’t know how busy we’re going to be from day to day which can be challenging but I believe in putting the right energy out there and continuing to grow what we’ve created here”
“It would be great for the whole area to back independent again. With independents you’re going to get quality, our ethos is built around an immersive experience, feeling like you’re in India – customer experience is everything here.”
When I asked Shivani what set Independents apart and why they are so important, “quality, fresh food” was top of the list alongside “authenticity, relationships and experience.”
“When you eat out you want to eat something that you can’t eat at home, Zindiya is an expression of me”
Shivani is invested totally in her business and highlights that as an independent you can be flexible, respond to customer feedback quickly and create a team that are as passionate as each other about the success of what the team has created. To them, customers relationships are non-transactional, she and the team get to share their vision, love for food and love for India with each and every person that comes in. This consistency is key and alongside the freedom and flexibility being a small independent affords Shivani and the team, it is the connections they make and experience they create that underpins what Zindiya is.
It was wonderful to get to know Shivani and find out what makes Zindiya the successful business it is – teenage Shivani would certainly be very proud of what she has achieved today.
Follow Zindiya’s story and go an experience their style of hospitality for yourself : )
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