Asheville-based chef and restaurateur Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani Restaurant Group will open Botiwalla in Optimist Hall in fall 2019. Botiwalla is an Indian street food and Irani cafe that first opened in Atlanta.

The Optimist Hall location of Botiwalla will serve grilled chicken, lamb, paneer, and steak wrapped in hot naan with fresh herbs; smoky lamb burgers; chaat masala smashed potatoes; and the cumin tikka desi salad. In addition to snacks and grilled meats, the restaurant will feature boozy slushies, afternoon high tea, and retail items including Irani’s Spicewalla spices. Botiwalla will occupy 2,772 square feet on the restaurant wing of Optimist Hall, making it one of the anchor tenants.

“My mission with Botiwalla is to bring the streets of India to life — the glowing charcoal sigris, the sizzling meats, the aromas of chaat masala — in the most delicious way possible,” Irani says. “I want to blow away people’s preconceived notions about what Indian food is and show them what it can be.”

Irani is the executive chef and founder of Chai Pani Restaurant Group and is a four-time James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Chef: Southeast. The restaurant group includes Chai Pani, MG Road Lounge, and Buxton Hall Barbecue.

In addition to Botiwalla, Optimist Hall will include quick-service food options from Dumpling Lady, Suarez Bakery, Papi Queso, Felix’s Empanadas, and Honeysuckle Gelato. The 22,000 square foot food hall plans to open early summer 2019 in the Belmont neighborhood. Read more about the tenants coming to the food hall here. —Justin Burke-Samson

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