Restaurant roundup: Ethiopian and Indian look for new locations

In this week’s retail roundup, a food truck is dropping anchor in a new brick-and-mortar store, and a hidden Indian gem is looking at an Eastern expansion.

Ermyias Shiberou, owner of the Stickem foodtruck, plans to open an Ethiopian restaurant in mid-April or May. The Blue Nile, to be housed next to the Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison Ave., will serve the food truck’s standard kabobs along with vegetarian and meat dishes to eat with injera.

Shiberou says that his choice to drop anchor is in response to customers wanting to come to the food truck regularly. It’s hard to be a loyal customer when the venue changes daily. However, he assures, the Stickem food truck will still operate.

Shiberou also plans on traditionally roasting Ethiopian coffee every day. An interior mural featuring Ethiopian folk art to be painted by local artist Gina Sposto is also in the works.

The owner of Rotis Cuisine of India is looking at other locations. The Indian restaurant, which specializes in North Indian fare, opened last October in the Sanderlin Center. 

Before moving to Memphis, Madha Ankisetty also owned Maharaja Indian Cuisine in Oxford, Mississippi. He says that he has his eye on Germantown and the eastern Poplar corridor for his next expansion.

“I'm looking for a place, and as soon as I find my place I will open. But you know, sometimes it takes six month and sometimes it takes a year.  As soon as I find the space, I will be able to speak on it,” he said.