Biz Buzz: Curry Pizza brings marriage of uncommon flavors to Rexburg
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REXBURG — A new restaurant with a distinct menu opened its doors in Rexburg last week.
Pairing curry and pizza may seem like an odd choice, but it makes sense to owner Bhinda Singh.
Singh’s family has been in the restaurant business for five generations. His family started in India but migrated to the United States when Singh was 14 years old. There, the family opened India Palace restaurants in South Jordan and Provo, Utah.
One day, Singh was traveling for business and walked into a pizza parlor in Bicknell, Utah, a town of 350 people.
“Things were not great there,” he said.
So he bought the place.
One of his regular customers — and friend — suggested marrying Indian food with the pizza, he said.
“So then I traveled to 36 states to taste all the pizza,” he said. Indian, Thai or Spanish, he thinks he has tasted pretty much every type of pizza out there. Although this may sound like a dream vacation to some, this was an education for Singh.
“I developed my own crust, my own sauces,” he said. Curry Pizza has 15 different curry sauces specially developed to go on pizza.
The Utah restaurant was featured in the show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” and the momentum built from there. It expanded to several other locations around the Beehive State.
The decision to open a branch in Idaho was an easy one, Singh said. Many customers were already traveling from Idaho to Utah to indulge in the unique pizza.
“We had a lot of people coming from Idaho Falls and Pocatello going to Utah every week,” he said. “About 30 percent of our customers came from Idaho.”
One family would drive from Blackfoot every weekend and buy 30 pizzas. They would place their order when they crossed the state line, and the pizzas would be ready for them.
“Every week. They were already here yesterday,” Singh added with pride. “And they are coming tonight.”
The rest of Idaho is already welcoming Curry Pizza with open arms. The restaurant has a steady stream of loyal customers and curious newcomers. Along with the marriage of pizza and curry, customers will also find traditional Italian-style pizza and traditional Indian dishes on the extensive menu.
Singh said customers can expect fresh food made on the spot.
“We are brand new to the area. We are not going to run the menu (our) way,” Singh said. “We are going to change the menu and prices as the community wants.”
Watch the segment of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” in the video player above.
The restaurant is at 505 North 2nd East Suite 201 in Rexburg. To learn more about the restaurant visit its website.
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