'Accidental restauranteur' shares a taste of her roots at Cheeni
When people walk in the door to Cheney what they
can expect is a warm welcome food that is cooked
with absolute intention and heart
The way our food is very home-style so is our
service
I'm an accidental restaurateur
Never did intend to open a restaurant
I've been always been a better baker than I was
a cook and started off my culinary journey with uh
making and selling chocolate chip cookies and had the opportunity
to open a tiny little kiosk at the downtown YMCA
Over there is when I decided that after 20 something
years in the US that I was really going to
tap into my Indian roots and that led to eventually
opening of Cheni Indian Food Emporrium in North Raleigh which
was an enormous leap for me and my family
The cafe got more popular I should say than I
ever ever ever dreamed of
And while that was open and because some of the
accolades that we received from it I took yet another
enormous leap and here we are
India is enormous
It's an enormous country so many regions so many regions
that don't get represented or talked about and there's so
much more people don't even know and I'd love to
introduce them to it if their minds and palates are
open
We have a menu guide
We talk about where it's from the stories relating to
that menu item on the back of the menu
So we set the stage for them a little bit
but always of course ask your server
There are some mainstays on the menu I'm not allowed
to take off
Assamosas for sure because we make as samosas fresh everyday
dough everything
Assamosas never see the inside of a freezer and the
lamb vindaloo that's something that my husband loves
One more thing especially that'll never come off the menu
is a tomato and pindi dal which is lentils with
okra cooked into it as well as fresh tomatoes that
um both my daughters say that I I make really
good dal and that was my younger daughter's absolute favorite
Everyone can find something here that I might enjoy
You like meat and potatoes try a pork korma or
a railway mutton curry
You don't like spice
Well we can serve you a dish that has plenty
of spices in it but they are not hot
But if you want something very hot we've got you
covered
Everybody can find something on there
Jeannie Durham is an extension of my dining room at
home
I love thrifted furniture and clothes and you know all
of that
The history that thrifted piece is scary
They were purchased with such care thinking about the families
that were going to sit around them
I found myself bringing those into my restaurant home and
found that they felt right to me
We like to serve people with personality and heart and
so we want the dining room to be a reflection
of that
Earlier this year we opened Nanny Goat Market in the
horseshoe at the hub
We also just opened Nanny goat in downtown Durham at
the Gear house
My daughter Amy has been so intentional about local women
owned immigrant owned underrepresented people
If they have products that are really good we'd love
to be able to have them on our shelves and
talk about them and amplify them
What's next Well we are getting ready to resurrect Cheni
Indian Food Empporium in the horseshoe at the hub in
RTP
We're going to serve lunch there as well as dinner
and the lunch there is going to mimic the cafe
concept that first started in North Raleigh
Anybody who's able to support the independent restaurants
They work harder than you can even imagine day after
day after day after day after day and to have
staff that show up willingly to do that
When you dine with independent restaurants you're not enriching the
restaurant owner as much as you're allowing that ecosystem to
thrive
And without restaurants we're lost
Come see us at Danny Goat
Come find local products
Come see us at Tiny
Allow allow me to serve you the food of my
my home country
My roots are still there
They'll always be there