Hallsley and Salisbury Kept Ordering From Lehja. Now Its Chef Is Opening Tashan in Westchester Commons.

During the pandemic, the delivery runs out of Lehja in Short Pump Town Center kept heading south of the river. Sunny Baweja, Lehja's chef and owner, told Richmond BizSense that the orders came again and again from Midlothian neighborhoods like Hallsley and Salisbury. "We were going nonstop to those neighborhoods," he said. "They were huge supporters to Lehja during COVID."

Those orders are the reason Lehja's first sibling is in Westchester Commons. The new restaurant is called Tashan Indian Kitchen & Wine. Baweja planned it around the households that kept his kitchen busy, and it shows in the room's size, in the menu, and in the fact that he doesn't want Tashan to copy Lehja.

Six Years, and Midlothian Won Out

Lehja opened at Short Pump Town Center in 2010. Baweja went on to earn James Beard Award nominations in 2019 and 2020, and the restaurant got glowing write-ups in Washingtonian and Forbes. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that before the pandemic, he was looking at Scott's Addition or Southside for a second location. Then COVID-19 stopped everything.

Lehja stayed open and did a brisk takeout and delivery business through DoorDash and Grubhub. That delivery map showed him where a second restaurant belonged. "There is a demand for Lehja in the area, in this neighborhood (in Midlothian)," Baweja told the Times-Dispatch. "There is a need for dining out here."

He still took his time. Baweja told BizSense that a new restaurant has to answer a question first:

"To me, opening a restaurant, it's not just having a place. You need to have a reason why. It should have a theme behind it, and the area should need it and demand it. It should have its own soul. Until I feel it, I can't just open (one)."

He found that feeling in Midlothian during the pandemic. This past spring he leased a 2,400-square-foot end cap on WC Main Street in Westchester Commons.

The Old Rusty Taco Corner Gets a New Tenant

Westchester Commons regulars know the space. It's the former Rusty Taco, across from Napa Kitchen & Wine. When it opened in 2019, BizSense covered it as the chain's first East Coast outpost. Trey Blankinship of Segall Group represented Baweja in the lease talks. Thalhimer's Alex Wotring, David Crawford and Kevin South represented the landlord.

Baweja told the Times-Dispatch he plans a small, boutique neighborhood restaurant with about 100 seats, counting the patio. Garage doors open the dining room onto that patio. Inside are custom arches inspired by homes in Baweja's native India. His son, a VCU undergraduate, helped shape the warm, modern design with designer Carin Schifano.

A Younger Sibling That Doesn't Copy Lehja

Baweja calls Tashan a younger sibling to Lehja. In Punjabi and Hindi, the name means "swag" and "style." "Swag can be … going back to your roots," he told the Times-Dispatch. The kitchen will focus on food from the Punjab region of northern India.

The split is about 70% Lehja favorites and 30% new dishes. So the delivery regulars in Hallsley and Salisbury will find dishes they know, plus a section of the menu nobody in Richmond has eaten from yet. Here's how the two halves compare, based on the dishes Baweja described:

"It will have its own soul, its own swag, in a sense," Baweja told the Times-Dispatch. "We're trying to focus on more Punjabi food and try to bring the street food flavor."

The goat Beliram is named for the iconic Indian chef who served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's royal kitchen. It's a Punjabi curry of tender meat in a yogurt marinade, with crushed coriander seeds, black peppercorns and whole spices. It's a good example of what Baweja says he most wants to do here. "I want to do dishes here that we've never done at Lehja," he said. "Iconic Indian dishes that might not be as well known."

The Virginia peanut chaat ties back to Short Pump. The Times-Dispatch ran a photo of a Lehja chaat made with Virginia corn and peanuts. At Tashan, that idea gets a whole section of the menu instead of one plate. Baweja told BizSense the menu details were still being finalized.

A Shorter Wine List, Organized by Region

Lehja's wine program gets an award from Wine Spectator every year, according to the Times-Dispatch. BizSense reported that its cellar holds hundreds of bottles.

Tashan won't try to match that. Baweja describes a sizable list that is still smaller than Lehja's, organized by region and always changing, along with cocktails and beer. The wine list follows the same plan as the dining room: it's built to bring people back often, not to save for a special occasion.

Lunch and Dinner, Close to Home

Baweja's plan for Tashan is lunch and dinner, and Lehja stays open as usual in Short Pump. For a Midlothian household that has been driving north for butter chicken, or paying for delivery across the river, the same kitchen's cooking now has a home in Westchester Commons.

Opening a second restaurant has been a challenge, Baweja told BizSense. "But I love challenges, and food makes me happy," he said. "And especially, Indian food makes me even happier."

Tashan is at the former Rusty Taco end cap on WC Main Street in Westchester Commons, across from Napa Kitchen & Wine.

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