Over the last 20 years, Gurbir “Gary” Singh has worked in a variety of different industries around the world and has built upon his unique and worldly business skill set as a current restaurant owner. Originally from India, Gurbir has a masters and PhD in chemistry and worked as a professor for many years.
After starting a family, Gurbir and his wife decided to move to North America in order to start a new life and pursue new economic opportunities. This led Gurbir to work a diverse assortment of jobs predominantly in the service industry: as a gas station attendant, a restaurant manager/owner in the U.S. and a manager of a travel agency. His work experience in the service industry led him to discover his passion for the restaurant business, and he opened Saffron Indian Cuisine in June 2015, as a family endeavour with his daughter, Hamreena Singh.
“Working in the service industry for many years, I enjoyed meeting many different people and focusing on relationship building,” says Gurbir. “I also wanted to do something different and give back to my community, which makes this business a good fit for me.”
This southside Indian restaurant has a huge menu, which is broken down into vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. A lot of the items are traditional but there are also surprises, such as butter chicken poutine and stuffed jalapeños. You can’t go wrong with traditional samosas, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken or any of the biryani dishes – they serve prawn, chicken, vegetable and lamb. They offer a variety of roti (including gluten-free) and naan bread (including chocolate!).