People are talking about the food at the Chit Chaat Café in a Vienna, Virginia, gas station. This is the kind of c-store that makes customers feel good the moment they walk inside—from the smell of Indian food cooking to the modern and bright décor to the friendly greeting.

“My mom does the cooking, my dad does some of the management and I handle the c-store and finances. My sister does social media. It’s a family oriented business,” explains Neil Puri, manager, adding “the whole family works to grow the business. Everyone is chipping in. Other than the family we have two other employees. They’re like family.”

The store opened in January 2021. “It was completely rebuilt from the ground up. It’s a modern contemporary design. In August, the kitchen was open,” said Puri.

The family is not new to the restaurant business. “We have a restaurant in Chantilly that we’ve closed temporarily because of the huge labor shortage. It’s hard to find employees. Vienna is a busy location. We wanted to focus on the c-store,” he said.

Opening in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t easy. Puri said, “The gas station was new; it was hard getting traffic. People were not driving as much. It gave us time to brainstorm and grow the business. It was just the gas station at first. The customers were pushing us to get food out there. Licensing took time, and building the kitchen took time.”

When the kitchen was up and rolling, the community’s response to the Halal Indian food was overwhelming. “It brought customers to the c-store. Customers would get gas and come inside. The word got out and people came for our food.”

MOM’S COOKING

Puri’s mother, Bindu Puri, cooks all of the items on this diverse menu and makes all of the spices she uses in the food. “We do not have a chef,” she shared. “I make all the chutneys and curries. Everything is fresh. Nothing is frozen. Every day I try to make new food,” she said, adding that she learned to cook from her mother.

“My mom is very talented with cooking,” Puri said. “She can go out and try a food and go home and replicate it. She’s the centerpiece of everything we make.”

Ordinarily, cooks taste, add something, cook a little more and taste a little more. Not Bindu.

“My family is vegetarian, except for me,” Puri said, and until recently, his mother had never cooked meat, so he taste tests all of the nonvegetarian recipes. Bindu tries "different types of fusion and blends of cuisines," Puri said.

“Butter chicken is the first thing that got us started. It’s served over rice with a side choice of a curry, and you get a small dessert. The curries are vegetarian, and [Bindu’s] been making them all her life. It’s our most ordered item.”

All of the portions are filling, and the Puris can adjust the spiciness of the food to each customer’s tastes.

The samosa burrito has gotten the attention of national media. “Samosa is Punjabi. It’s a classic side dish. We have our own twist. It’s a side pocket of potato peas and masala. We do those side things and put them in a burrito. Then, it’s paired with curry rice and sauces.”

C-store foodservice programs have to stay competitive, and developing new menu items is important. A tandoori meatball sub has just been added. “The meatballs are fried, served with pepper jack cheese, onions and tandoori mayo sauce. We’re only doing them as a special once a month or twice month,” Puri said.

Puri is proud of the store and the customer response. He credits the high quality of the food.

“The taste sets the food apart—it’s authentic and it’s good. The c-store is set up well, and we keep it neat and clean. We treat our customers like family. It’s like you’re coming into our home to eat. That has a little bit to do with our customer retention. We know our customers’ names already, even though it’s been only a few months.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

The role of social media in a successful c-store food program cannot be underestimated. Puri and his sister Maggie make sure Chit Chaat Café is noticed. “We did Facebook first, getting our name into the community. There’s a Facebook page called Vienna Foodies. Our introductory post was: We’re a new gas station serving good food. That got a few people in. People who loved the food posted reviews on the Vienna Foodies page. That really got attention.” Then they turned to Instagram.

Then TikTok users picked up on the buzz. “A lot of people get food ideas on TikTok. All our food is Halal. I’d go into Halal accounts. A lot of my friends are Muslim. We got the word out. We’re a family business and finding time to promote is hard.

“It’s huge and it’s free. You’re leaving money on the table when you’re not doing social media promotions,” Puri said.

The challenge of getting customers to try gas station food can be daunting, even with a location like Chit Chaat Café on the main street of town. There is a stigma to overcome.

You’re leaving money on the table when you’re not doing social media promotions. 

“It’s a great corner location on a busy road. It’s nice to look at from the outside. It’s a good build. We’re right outside of D.C. The food has increased business,” Puri said. “We’re restauranteurs, we know what we’re doing. We show our customers how clean we keep our place. The service and taste are consistent,” he said.

“Every time we serve someone, we’re building our family. We love spreading our culture and our food.”