{"id":1119,"date":"2026-05-27T13:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1119"},"modified":"2026-05-27T13:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:06:59","slug":"acclaimed-nc-restaurant-group-ready-to-open-its-street-food-paradise-in-raleigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1119","title":{"rendered":"Acclaimed NC restaurant group ready to open its street food paradise in Raleigh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Next week, Raleigh will finally get a taste of one of North Carolina\u2019s most acclaimed restaurant groups.<\/p>\n

Read more NC State baseball HC Elliott Avent talks retirement, NCAA Tournament selection<\/a><\/p>\n

The new Botiwalla<\/a> by Chai Pani will open Tuesday, June 2 at Raleigh Iron Works.<\/p>\n

Botiwalla brings the James Beard-winning flavors of Chai Pani<\/a> to the Triangle, serving up the Indian Street food concept from owners Meherwan and Molly Irani.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the counter-service cousin to the sit-down sensation of Chai Pani, which won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant in the Country in 2022<\/a>. The first Botiwalla opened in Atlanta in 2016, born out of the demand for some of Chai Pani\u2019s most popular dishes, like okra fries and masala smashed potatoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cChai Pani was meant to be snacky street food, but within the first six months it was clear we couldn\u2019t run it as a counter service restaurant and had to turn it into a sit-down spot,\u201d Irani said. \u201cSo with Botiwalla we took the greatest hits of Chai Pani.\u201d<\/p>\n

Botiwalla will be open daily for lunch and dinner, serving fast-casual Indian Street food. The Raleigh restaurant is the brand\u2019s fifth location, following Atlanta, Charlotte and two in Asheville.<\/p>\n

Beyond snacks like okra fries and Gobi 65, look for kebabs and skewers and lamb burgers. On the drink side, diners will find boozy slushies, warm chai and chilled lassis.<\/p>\n

A move into the Triangle has been a long time coming, Irani said, as his Chai Pani restaurant group has exploded throughout the Southeast. The Triangle\u2019s diverse food scene has always been attractive to the group, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy ambitions are always ahead of my capabilities; I\u2019ve always wanted to come to Raleigh, I\u2019ve been visiting forever,\u201d Irani said. \u201cI think there\u2019s an incredible culinary scene here. The foodies here are culinarily adventurous, they\u2019re excited about trying new things, they\u2019re excited when things are done well. And it\u2019s very diverse, there\u2019s a large Indian diaspora in the Triangle.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Botiwalla, Irani said the restaurant doesn\u2019t deal in the scoop and serve model of many fast-casual spots. He said everything is made fresh, and that once Raleigh\u2019s location finds its legs, meals should be served in as little as three minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe menu is designed for speed,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are busy, and we\u2019re serving Indian flavor profiles that are appealing to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raleigh location will offer the largest Botiwalla kitchen space of any of the brand\u2019s restaurants, which Irani said means a larger menu and more favorites pulled from Chai Pani, such as the MG Road wings, a dish of crispy, dry rubbed chicken wings. The Raleigh Botiwalla will also have more vegetarian options than the other locations.<\/p>\n

With the Chai Pani group finally opening in the Triangle, Irani expects more concepts to come. But each will be its own restaurant, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really see a restaurant like Botiwalla playing an important role in its community,\u201d Irani said. \u201cOne day it needs to feel like a landmark, like it\u2019s always been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Botiwalla by Chai Pani opens June 2 at Raleigh Iron Works, serving Indian street food favorites like okra fries, kebabs, MG Road wings and boozy slushies in the Triangle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nAcclaimed NC restaurant group ready to open its street food paradise in Raleigh - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1119\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Acclaimed NC restaurant group ready to open its street food paradise in Raleigh - 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