Just off Devon Avenue on Oakley Street, there's a small restaurant with 80 seats—Hema's Kitchen. The first of two locations in Chicago, it is relatively unadorned and does not look too different from the many South Asian restaurants that line Devon and its side streets.
But Hema Potla, who moved to Chicago from India in 1981, ascribes her success to a simple approach. "What you've got to do is win people by giving them fresh food," said Potla in her thick accent. She admits that diners might have to wait an extra five minutes or so for their food. "We take your order, we go inside the kitchen, and we start cooking from scratch."
Potla is part of a wave of Indians who had heard of Chicago's active indigenous community and left India for a new life. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 opened the doors for Indians to resettle in the United States, and the population has grown steadily in the ensuing years. The Consulate General of India in Chicago estimates that there are anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 Indians living throughout the Chicagoland area, particularly near Devon Avenue and in Chicago suburbs such as Naperville, Schaumberg and Skokie. Chicago and Delhi are sister cities, which reinforces the bond between Indian-Americans and Chicago.
Chicago, and particularly the area around Devon Avenue, welcomes Indians with stores that feature goods from home. Thanks to people like Potla, Indians can eat Tikka Masala and poori bread; get traditional eyebrow threading; and find saris, the traditional Indian garments for females.
Potla recalls that clusters of travelers from Chicago would come to her beauty shop in India and urge her to move to Chicago. Her journey to becoming a renowned restaurant owner did not happen overnight. After relocating here, she worked for a few years in other restaurants on Devon Avenue and in the downtown area, including one Pakistani restaurant, where she worked as a helper and made $600 per month.
Hema's Kitchen, which is small, has a feels-like-home vibe. Hema created all of her dishes and said that while she has always been a good cook, the hard part of becoming a successful restaurateur was learning to cook for others outside of her family. Although her location off Devon Avenue is near an Indian neighborhood, she said the majority of her guests happen to be from the United States.
Potla noted, "Everybody has their own liking for a city, but I feel at home here; people know me and I know them. My customers know about my grandchildren. I know about their kids. Personal relationships with your guests always help."
Her success, she said, could never have been done anywhere besides Chicago. "The city of Chicago is beautiful," she said. "I like it; no, I love it. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else."