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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Indian Cuisine: Srinu Sista, co-owner of Sue's Indian Cuisine in Willow Glen, says the restaurant promises to maintain high-quality Indian recipes that made former owner Sue Sista 'a restaurateur par excellence.'
Sue's Indian Cuisine helps similar restaurants to grow
By Jim Aquino
Though Sue Sista, founder and owner of the Sue's Indian Cuisine restaurants in Willow Glen and Mountain View, passed away in January, her family promises to maintain the high quality of the Indian recipes that made her what her youngest brother Srinu Sista calls "a restaurateur par excellence."
"We were quite shocked because it happened very suddenly," says Srinu about his half-sister's Jan. 13 death from a brief illness and the reactions of his other brother and three sisters, who all live in India. "We're recovering. We were all very fond of her. She was the eldest in our family."
Srinu's regular day job is software engineering in Cupertino. He has succeeded Sue as owner of both restaurants.
"My workload has increased threefold now," says Srinu, who adds that running a restaurant is a task that he has grown accustomed to. "When she passed away, it was not that difficult for me to pick up where she left off."
Sue was a painter and Indian tea connoisseur who had learned how to cook from both her birth mother, who died when she was a child, and Srinu's mother. When Sue moved from England to the United States in 1982, she started Sue's Kitchen in Sunnyvale, with the help of Srinu and his wife, Hema.
In 1990, Sue sold Sue's Kitchen and opened Sue's Indian Cuisine on Castro Street in Mountain View. In 1996, she bought a tiny Italian bistro on Willow Street and turned it into the second Sue's Indian Cuisine.
The Mountain View Sue's seats about 45, while the Willow Glen Sue's seats only about 20. Srinu says the bistro-size Sue's on Willow Street has a much more romantic feel.
"It's sort of tucked away in the middle of the residential area of Willow Glen and has its own charm based on that," Srinu says. "Because Willow Glen is in a tucked-away place, we tend to get less business in Willow Glen than we do in Mountain View. But both of them are doing well."
Because vegetarianism is a huge part of Indian culture, there are plenty of vegetarian items on the menu, but Sue's also features meat dishes for customers who aren't as strict about their diets. Srinu says that the meat lovers tend to go for the spicy vindaloo dishes or the milder buttered chicken, while the malai kofta (spicy vegetable balls) and the allo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) are most popular with vegetarian customers.
Srinu recalls that his sister was friendly with other Indian restaurateurs in the South Bay and always looked out for them. He says she wanted all Indian restaurants to do well in the valley.
"Her business has helped the other businesses and in the process, you have a valley rich with Indian restaurants, and each one of them has their own character. They're all in their own right doing very well," Srinu says. "If there is one legacy Sue would have liked to have passed on, it's that all of them are successful. In the process, we know that we will continue to be successful as well."
Sue's Indian Cuisine, 895 Willow St. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (lunch), 5 p.m.-10 p.m. (dinner). For more information, call 408.993.8730.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
