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North Bay airport café reopening downtown

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The Northern Himalayan Café, which used to be located in the city’s airport, is moving downtown.

Co-owners Laxmi Konwar and Sujala Niroula said Friday the pandemic hurt business at the airport, prompting the move.

"We need more multicultural food, more taste and more flavour and this is the flavour we are adding,” said Konwar.

“That's why we are very excited about it."

When it was at the North Bay Jack Garland Airport, it was recognized as a top Canadian airport restaurant. Then COVID-19 devastated the travel industry and the restaurant closed in March 2020.

"We even contacted Skip The Dishes and looked for other delivery possibilities, but they wouldn't go up there so we had to close,” said Niroula.

Undaunted, the pair acquired the old Union Taxi location on Main Street. It's currently being renovated and will be the new site of the café.

The owners said their goal was always to open downtown and cook traditional Nepalese food based on the Himalayan region. They said the food is quite similar to Chinese or Tibetan.

"It's a different culture in a plate," said Konwar.

"At the airport we had limitations because we had to serve the people quick. We can expand here and experiment and see what people like."

The café will seat up to 30 customers. The co-owners also want to create an elevated outdoor seating area with a lake view while at the same time hoping to bring a new vibe to the downtown cuisine culture.

"This is a perfect location for us to be and we are connected to Lakeshore Drive and connected up along (Main Street),” Niroula said.

“This is the perfect spot."

They hope to relaunch the café in October. 

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