By Nancy Walker
“To be in the service industry means to actually be of service.” While many may espouse this philosophy, one restaurateur in Atlanta is living it: Meherwan Irani, CEO, executive chef and founder of Chai Pani Restaurant Group.
Just a decade ago, the native of India not only decided to change the perception of Indian food in the United States, he began a movement to change the model for the way restaurants treat and grow their employees.
“We wanted each of our restaurants to feel that they were an essential part of the community by volunteering, giving back, participating in important causes and showing up when the community needed help and support,” he says.
With his wife Molly, Irani launched his mission, introducing Asheville, N.C., to the world of Indian street food and shattering stereotypes with the opening of the first Chai Pani.
Credited for sparking a cultural food revolution – and named one of TIME magazine’s “31 People Changing The South” in the process – Irani’s CPRG team currently oversees seven restaurants in Asheville and Atlanta with an eighth to open soon in Charlotte. He and his wife even launched an initiative to send eight employees to India each year for cultural immersion and volunteer work.
But his drive to influence diversity and cultural understanding didn’t stop there. “To be accepted by the South as one of their own, even though I was an immigrant from India, was a life-changing shift in perspective for me,” Irani says. No longer did he think he was an Indian that happened to live in the South, but “a Southerner that happened to be from India.”
Taking that belief to heart, Irani was inspired to collaborate with some of the most renowned Indian chefs in the South, and the Brown in the South Supper series was born.
“Identity doesn’t stop at race,” he says. “Gender, orientation, religion, ethnicity – all are part of the cultural expression of a community and a region. By founding Brown In The South, we started a conversation around race, identity, belonging and food.”
Since its launch in 2018, the quarterly collaborative dinner series has sparked a cult-like following, with proceeds benefiting the Southern Foodways Alliance. The group has also been invited to bring the dinner to the James Beard House in August.
While his restaurants consistently make all the top ‘best of’ lists and accolades grace the pages of newspapers and magazines, Irani is still grounded in his philosophy of service.
“I want our restaurants to not just be a passive safe space,” he says, “but an active participant in the expression of diversity. If I can inspire others to stand up and be counted, then we will indeed be recognized as one of the most diverse parts of the country.”
