Shiwanti Widyarathna never considered opening a second restaurant. Content with Cinnamon—the popular Indian spot she runs with her chef-husband Chaminda in Rhinebeck—the restaurateur hadn’t given much thought to expanding the business, she says. That all changed, though, when the couple got a call from the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts during the summer of 2022. “There was an Indian restaurant at the time in Woodstock, and [the owners] were retiring after 30 years in business,” she explains, referencing the now-defunct Mountain Gate eatery. “So, the Chamber and the landlord reached out to us. Woodstock was really keen on having an ethnic restaurant there.”
Ultimately swayed by the town’s pitch, the pair decided to take the leap and open Nirvana on Deming Street in February. Like Cinnamon, the menu features authentic Indian fare, but there are a few key differences between the sister restaurants, Widyarathna says. While Cinnamon serves up traditional dishes (think: chicken tikka masala and Goan fish curry), Nirvana plates a smaller array of what Widyarathna describes as “classics with a little innovative twist.” (One example: a Vindaloo dish featuring garlic- and ginger-spiced duck instead of chicken.)
The restaurant, which recently began offering weekend brunch in addition to its regular lunch and dinner service, also places a greater emphasis on local ingredients. The Nirvana team is currently working with a handful of nearby farms and aspires to source all its produce from local purveyors. “When we were opening Woodstock, we were debating if we should have the same menu. And then we thought, why don’t we do something really different?” says Widyarathna, noting that the menu will change seasonally. “Then people can go either way: They could come to Cinnamon to have certain things, or they could go to Nirvana to have other things.”
For the couple, working to differentiate the two restaurants has offered a unique opportunity to exercise some imagination. You can taste it in the chef’s delicious mains like savory butter chicken and lamb korma—the latter served in a spiced cashew-and-almond sauce so craveable, it could be served on its own as a soup. Widyarathna was able to flex her creative muscles, too, particularly when it came to working with a local designer on renovating the new space. The result is a modern, serene setting where moody purple tones are complemented by wall murals of green and gold trees, hand-painted by a local artist.
“When you have one restaurant and you open the second one, you’re like, ‘Oh, I know the drill. I can do it.’ But when you do it, you feel like you had a baby and are scratching your head to take care of the newborn,” says Widyarathna, reflecting on the work she and her husband put into bringing Nirvana to life. “It was challenging in the beginning. I definitely am enjoying it so much now.”
Nirvana
4 Deming St., Woodstock
845.684.5696
Website
Related: Try Top Vino at These Boutique Wine Shops in the Hudson Valley
