Raj wins award for tasty venture

A Bilston entrepreneur who transformed a derelict building in into a top Indian restaurant has won a business award.

Raj Atwal, one of the directors of India Gates, teamed up with her husband and family to take the eyesore premises in Mount Pleasant and establish the business.

The restaurant has now won the Best New Startup in the Black Country heats of the Mustard.uk.com Awards 2004. Raj's wholehearted commitment to the scheme impressed judges so they chose her to compete against the best in class in Birmingham, Coventry & Warwickshire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire later this month.

Turnover has already rocketed past the £200,000 mark for India Gates. Raj said: "We have grown from my husband's pipedream into a fully-fledged family business that has created ten jobs and is fast putting Bilston on the culinary map.

"There is a lot of competition in our sector and we knew from the outset that we had to make our mark, a mark that we feel has been created through the latest decor, the diversity and quality of food and the introduction of a special children's menu to encourage family dining."

The restaurant has also picked up a major title at this year's Black Country Asian Business Confederation dinner.

The Mustard Awards 2004 are supported by the Express & Star, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Natwest, ITV Central and Yo Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe.

The awards will come to a grand finale in front of an audience of 250 people at the Hilton Metro- pole on October 28.

Express and Star - 16th October 2004

Raj wins award for tasty venture

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