On April 20, 2016, a fire in the building housing Cafe Bombay on Mill Street in Bristol Borough forced Gigi Eapen, the owner, to shut to repair and correct the damages. Nearly nine months later, and the popular eatery is getting back in the groove.
Looking back on the fire and the way it stopped him from conducting business and engaging with his customer base, Eapen described the blaze and subsequent shut down of business as “heartbreaking.”
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“People are calling me and forcing me to open,” Eapen joked, adding the support from his customers has been impressive.
Although Cafe Bombay isn’t open in its full capacity, Eapen has made the eatery open for takeout after 5 p.m. between Tuesday and Sunday.
According to Eapen, his customer base may make their way around to try other Indian cuisine offerings in the area but desperately wanted Bombay to return to business.
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The full re-opening, which will be marked by a grand opening, is scheduled for sometime this summer. Eapen still has some work he wants to accomplish, including changing around the layout and altering the style of the dining room.
Cafe Bombay has been on Mill Street since 2004. Before landing in Bristol in 2002, Eapen worked around the country in Michigan, Harrisburg and Baltimore since his arrival in America in 1995. Community support is one of the main reasons he enjoys being based in Bristol, Eapen said.
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Since the fire, members have the community have shown their support to Eapen, sending monetary gifts for different holidays and even going so far as to offering to set up an internet fundraiser if it was needed. During the closure, the community’s generosity is really what surprised Eapen the most.
The fire came at the worst part of the year for Cafe Bombay’s business. Eapen mentioned that he missed 2016’s First Friday events as well as his busiest months in the summer.
As soon as he reopened for takeout, old customers began returning for service, one by one. This impressed Eapen because he made no effort to advertise.
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“The way we do things is totally different,” Eapen said, referencing his spices and way he prepares food. All of the spices in Eapen’s cooking comes from India, as opposed to the pre-made spices that are available in stores. In the front of the restaurant, there even sits a plant that Eapen grows to use for cooking.
Cafe Bombay is a close-knit community from the business itself to its integration in the larger community, and now, the restaurant is open for dinner takeout between Tuesday and Sunday.
