By Parveen Chopra

Gary Sikka is a serial restaurateur. He recently created waves and received raves for opening a world-class banquet hall. Named Pearl, it is the latest in his collection of restaurant gems. It is in Hicksville, the thriving and newest Little India.

Your recent memory may not go beyond Mint restaurant which he opened in 2009 cheek by jowl with the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City. But he ran a highly rated restaurant, also named Mint, in midtown Manhattan. Going back further in time, he ran a restaurant in New Delhi named Rubal before he moved to the USA to serve up Indian food to Indians and Americans alike.

During an interview for The Indian Panorama, Gary Sikka revealed that Pearl was conceived to cater to the growing demand from the South Asian community for a banquet hall with a bigger capacity than easily available. “Weddings and other gatherings of 300-350 have become commonplace,” says Sikka. “Mint’s capacity is just 200. So, we used to take our clients to other, bigger places. Now Pearl has come up for bigger events, and a smaller event can be done at Mint.”

Bookings galore at Pearl

Pearl’s chandeliered ballroom can seat 400 and on the second floor can hold another 100. Pearl’s opening in July was celebrated with a lavish party graced by dignitaries, community leaders, friends, and family. Notables included hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, Harry Singh Bolla, chairman of Bolla Oil Corporation, Naveen Shah, CEO of Navika Capital Group, Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, CEO of ScieGen Pharmaceutical Company, and Jon Kaiman, Deputy Suffolk County Executive.

Pearl has been getting a very good response. “Those who were planning their parties at hotels are converting to Pearl.” Gary Sikka shows the Pearl calendar chock-a-block with booked events.

The steady stream of bookings is not coming just from people of Indian or Pakistani origin, but people of all communities, white, black, or Hispanic. Confirmed bookings for 2024, Sikka notes, have come, besides the tristate area, as from as far as Albany, Pennsylvania, even Atlanta.

Besides the glittering ballroom and high-ceiling lobby right in downtown Hicksville, Pearl has a bridal suite. It also has a sprawling parking facility for 150 vehicles. But for Covid, the $9 million Pearl would have opened two years ago and would have cost less.

For now, Pearl is only for banquets. Says Sikka, “We thought for dining Mint is there only a few miles away. But we will add dining in Pearl also in the future.”

Officially, Gary Sikka is CEO and Executive Chef and his son Rubal Sikka is its President and owner.

Despite his long list of accomplishments in the hospitality business, Gary Sikka, 56, does not have the airs that some celebrity chefs have. Unassuming and soft-spoken, he gave this free-flowing interview in Punjabi in his first-floor office in Mint. He talks about the capacity they possess to handle massive events. “In 2018, we did catering for 2,500 delegates, five meals a day for five days for the AAPI (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) convention at Harrah’s at Atlantic City Resort.

Sikka shares that he moved to the US towards the end of the last century after his kids came here to pursue higher education. Around 1997 he set up a business running a chain of cell phone stores under the name of NR Wireless. But the restaurant business claimed him again, and he opened ‘With Mint’ in 2001 in Midtown Manhattan on 50th Street. It was a roaring success, Gary Sikka states. He shares the secret sauce that goes into running a successful restaurant, particularly in a city like Manhattan: “It is the best of food, location, service, and ambiance in that order. And we had a combination of all four.”

Mint served not just Indian but also American and Italian cuisine then. The guests who dined there, Sikka remembers, included the Clintons, state governors, UN diplomats, and Bollywood’s who’s who. “We were situated very close to the UN building. And the visiting dignitaries usually stayed at the legendary Waldorf Astoria, which was next door to us. We also served visiting Indian ministers and were caterers by default at India House (housing the New York Consulate).” They had a deal to do room service in hotels including Waldorf Astoria.

Sikka continues his story. “We moved Mint to the current location in 2009, keeping the same four ingredients in mind – the best of food, location, service, and ambiance. And it has been a success story too.” The restaurant can seat about 200 people on the ground floor. It has a walled-off buffet area, and the bar is in the lobby. The terrace can hold 150 people; it is the only one on Long Island allowed rooftop dining with a live-kitchen license.

The clientele, Sikka divulges is only 50% South Asian, and 50% are a mix of other communities.

Whether it is Pearl or Mint, they are prepared to meet the dietary demands of the client, be it kosher, or halal, and lately even vegan and Jain food.

Thriving catering business
Mint is an official caterer to marquee names in hospitality including Crest Hollow Country Club, Leonard’s, Muttontown Golf Club (all on Long Island) as well as Hilton Huntington, Marriott in Uniondale and Melville, Hyatt Hauppauge, and Terrace on the Park in Queens.

Sikka insists parties at these places don’t just call him for Indian cuisine, but also Indo-Chinese, Thai, Italian, American, Mediterranean, even Mexican and Japanese.

A fun fact Sikka will tell you is about the changing community and ethos. “Many marriages these days are inter-religious and multicultural. So, they may ask for Indian appetizers at eight stations for cocktails, only to go for multi-cuisine for dinner.” Sikka has also included live cooking in his culinary smorgasbord — be it barbecue, Mexican live, Chat station Live, or Sushi Live.

They don’t just lug around cooked food to the venue. “We have a mobile kitchen fully equipped with tandoor and fryers as well as a frozen vault for ice-cream. We park our 22-foot truck at the venue and supply piping-hot food from there. Tandoor is a necessity for much of our cooking, and hotels or restaurants do not have it in their kitchens.”

There is a necessary variation on the sit-down dinner format, says Sikka: “Indian and other South Asians do not like pre-plated lunch or dinner. They also want chicken, goat curry, and vegetables served at the table. Our servers provide that as well as assorted bread.”

With son Rubal helping in Gary Sikka’s business for almost 20 years, what is the division of labor? Rubal, who has a management degree, manages Pearl, operations, maintenance, the bar, and bookings. Gary Sikka himself looks after marketing, food, and catering.

Community leader

Gary Sikka has been active in community affairs, more vigorously lately. He is the driving force and President of the American Punjabi Society launched recently. “There has been no Punjabi organization. But we’ll work for the welfare of not just Punjabi but all communities in the spirit of the Sikh tenet of ‘Sarbat ka bhala’ (the well-being of all). For example, we plan to run cancer clinics.” Punjabi American Society along with Suffolk County’s Department of Human Services held a well-attended Punjabi Heritage Celebrations 2023 on December 20 at Suffolk County Executive Building in Hauppauge.

Sikka is the founder-director of the Indian American Chamber of Commerce, NY, and of the Long Island Indo-American Lions Club. He is also an executive member of the India Association of Long Island (IALI).

Family man

Gary Sikka’s is a close-knit family. He is married to Bably Sikka. They live in the neighborhood of Dix Hills. His son Rubal Sikka has an MBA from Stony Brook. He is fond of singing as a hobby and has many videos on YouTube. Daughter Navneet Sikka, a computer science graduate and MBA, is Senior Vice President with Citigroup.

Gary Sikka’s first restaurant in Rohini in Delhi was named Rubal (which is also the name of the Russian currency). Recalls Gary Sikka, “I was with my father, Gurbachan Singh Sikka, telling him that we are not able to come up with a name. Just then my son Rubal called, So, my father said, ‘Why not Rubal?’ And that was it.” Rubal started in 1993 and carved a name for itself in Delhi. This family tradition has resurfaced and is set to repeat.

Pearl in Hicksville is named after Rubal’s daughter.

For more information: www.PearlNY.com and www.MintNY.com

(The author, Parveen Chopra is a seasoned journalist and the founder-editor of ALotusInTheMud.com, a wellness and spirituality web magazine. He can be contacted at parveen.chopra@gmail.com)
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