"Curry Row,"
or "Little India,"
and sometimes called Curry Lane, is an area of
East Sixth Street, from
First Avenue to
Second Avenue,
in the
East Village of
Lower Manhattan, with approximately 20
South Asian restaurants.
Curry Row started in 1968 when six brothers,
[ all from ]Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, bought a former Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
restaurant for $1,800; the owner of the property accepted that price instead of the initial $2,000 because the brothers could only pay $1,600. The brothers established the restaurant Shah Bag because of existing demand and because the area South Asians wanted a place where they could eat familiar cuisine. One of the brothers, Manir Ahmed, immigrated to the United States in 1954. Andrew Jacobs of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' stated that "Manir Ahmed was the one name that was invariably stuffed in the pockets of new arrivals" and that the brothers "are revered as patriarchs in the Bangladeshi community".[
Most of the restaurateurs that came to the area were from ]Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...
.[ The restaurants, many named after films or people or characters seen in films, were popular with hippies in the 1970s who expressed an interest in South Asian culture. Many of the cooks served ]northern Indian cuisine
North Indian cuisine is collectively the cuisine of Northern India, which includes the cuisines of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and adjoining western Bihar.
Sub-types of No ...
even though their native Bangladeshi cuisine
Bangladeshi cuisine ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রান্না) is the national cuisine of Bangladesh. Bangladeshi cuisine has been shaped by the diverse history and river-line geography of Bangladesh. The country has a tropical m ...
was significantly different.[ Olid Ahmed, the nephew of the first restaurateurs in Curry Row, stated that he got assistance from the chef of the Embassy of Pakistan. By the 1980s the restaurants became financially lucrative, and changes in immigration law meant there were more immigrants from Bangladesh.][ In 1984 there were about 10 South Asian restaurants. In the following decade that number was 27.][
By 1996, '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that several of the restaurants experienced financial issues as Indian restaurants opened in other parts of the New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...
. With increased competition, the newspaper reported that a "price war" resulted in relationships between people being damaged.[
In 2008 there were around twelve South Asian restaurants in the area.][
In 2019 the South Asian-oriented publication ''The Juggernaut'' reported that some of the restaurants remained in operation while others had closed.][ ]
Information on the publication
/ref>
See also
*
* , including the restaurant district "Curry Hill"
* Indians in the New York City metropolitan area
Indians in the New York City metropolitan area constitute one of the largest and fastest-growing ethnicities in the New York City metropolitan area of the United States. The New York City region is home to the largest and most prominent Indian ...
* List of numbered streets in Manhattan
The New York City borough of Manhattan contains 214 numbered east–west streets ranging from 1st to 228th, the majority of them designated in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. These streets do not run exactly east–west, because the grid pl ...
* Oak Tree Road
Little India, Edison/Iselin, also known as Oak Tree Road, is a predominantly South Asian shopping, business, and dining district centered on a road, designated County Route 604, situated in Middlesex County, in Central New Jersey, and set amidst ...
in Middlesex County, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, U.S.
* Curry Mile
The Curry Mile is a nickname for the part of Wilmslow Road running through the centre of Rusholme in south Manchester, England. The name is earned from the large number of restaurants, takeaways and kebab houses specialising in the cuisine ...
– A group of restaurants in Manchester, England
References
{{Ethnic enclaves
Streets in Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
Ethnic enclaves in New York (state)
Indian-American culture in New York City
Restaurants in Manhattan
Restaurant districts and streets in the United States