‘Incredibly Satisfying’: Saffron Indian Foods Moves From Fredericton Market Into Permenant Location
FREDERICTON–Saffron Indian Foods is the first Northside Creators Market stand to open a permanent restaurant. Its new location is just down the road from the market.
Saffron Indian Foods was one of the first vendors in the Northside Creators Market permanent space, at 170 Main Street, since the location opened in March of last year.
The market is a not-for-profit resurrection of the previous Northside market that closed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kumar Uprety, the current owner at Saffron Indian Foods, took over the business in August and told Huddle his eventual goal was to open a small restaurant.
He started looking in January, found a location in April, and started the process right away, leading to Saffron’s grand opening on May 4.
“I finally came to open my own restaurant, so that was [a] big achievement for me,” said Uprety.
Right now, the restaurant seats eight people but they are aiming to eventually seat 12. The plan for the restaurant is to serve takeout but if customers chose to stay and eat, there will be a small dining space.
“I feel really happy,” Uprety said. “The board of directors were very helpful.”
Jim Middleton, chairman of the board of directors of the Northside Creators Market, calls the market a “business incubator,” which he describes as a place for businesses to develop and test their buyer market.
Middleton said the board did not want the new market to be like a flea market. The goal was to create an entrepreneurial space where people could present their passion projects to the Fredericton buyers’ community.
“We wanted to focus on makers, growers, creators, crafters, or people who were heavily involved in creating what they were selling,” said Middleton.
In the case of Saffron Indian Foods, Middleton saw the business progress and develop during its time in the market. Saffron offered different dishes, made expansions with new tools, and used services like Skip the Dishes to expose their food to new people around the city.
Middleton said a market is a lower-cost option for people to test out their business, because it can be a risk to go into a brick-and-mortar store with an untested product or service. The Creators Market gives people the chance to see how their product or service is working.
“[Saffron Indian Foods] have been a cornerstone for us for the longest time,” said Middleton.
Middleton said the process of moving from a market stand into a permanent location depends on businesses that are attentive to their clientele and listen to feedback.
“I think one of the winning recipes, as it were, pardon the pun, for Saffron is the authentic Indian food. They were actually using recipes from India, as opposed to maybe creating a Canadian-sized version of that recipe,” said Middleton. “They focused on what the genuine, authentic food was and I think that resonated with their customers.”
Middleton said it is “incredibly satisfying” seeing Saffron Indian Foods start as a market stand and make it to a brick-and-mortar location.
“Giving them a location and giving an opportunity is what we’ve done on our end,” said Middleton. “What they’ve done is worked diligently on their food, their service, getting in front of people, doing their own marketing … to get themselves to this point where it’s amazing that they have their own spot just up the road from us.”
May 14 was Saffron Indian Foods’ last day operating at the Northside Creators Market. The market hosted a graduation ceremony on Saturday as a farewell.