A new Indian restaurant is being built in the area and could open as early as September.
Indian Delight will be the third restaurant for Hattiesburg-based Gautan Nautayal, who also owns restaurants under the same name in Hattiesburg and Ocean Springs.
The newest addition to the offering is located in a strip mall on Lakeland Drive in the former Osaka Japanese restaurant, just off Airport Road in Flowood, steps from Basil’s/Roosters dining room, which opened in April.
Nautayal said the opening is planned for September and they hope to be ready by September 12.
“We are just waiting for approval from the health department and the other remodeling work we are doing,” said Nautayal, who bought the Hattiesburg location in 2021 and opened the Ocean Springs location in 2023. The Hattiesburg location originally opened in 2014 under a previous owner. “We plan to turn it into an upscale Indian restaurant with a modern interior.”
He said the Flowood location will be headed by Chef Dinesh Singh, who has more than 20 years of experience working in Indian restaurants in many countries.
Singh originally took over the Hattiesburg location when Nautayal purchased it in 2021 and then moved to Ocean Springs to open this location.
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Nautayal said he had wanted to open a third location for some time and looked at many locations in the greater Jackson area before finally settling on Flowood.
“I wanted to be in Central Mississippi, but the lure of being on Lakeland Drive, where more than 50,000 cars drive by every day, was too great to pass up,” said Nautayal, who moved to the United States from Mumbai, India, in 2017 when he started working for a Hyatt Regency in New Orleans. “Plus, to my knowledge, there’s only one other Indian restaurant in Flowood. It’s really a great opportunity at a great time. It’s such a beautiful town and being (one of the few Indian restaurants) in town is what made me want to stay here.”
He also said this won’t be the last stop for Indian Delight. He expects to open another location in Alabama in January, but wouldn’t reveal which city. He said he’s always looking for opportunities and could open another location in Mississippi in 2025.
“Yes, I’m looking at a few other places,” Nautayal said.
Some of the most popular dishes on the menu include chicken tikka masala, chicken curry and chicken vindaloo. Most main courses cost between $15 and $18.
Mautayal said lamb curry, goat korma and lamb shank are also popular at the other two locations. There will also be a selection of seafood and up to eight desserts on the menu.
Ross Reilly can be reached via email at [email protected] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter at @GreenOkra1.
