‘I don’t hire Indians’: Owner of Indian restaurant in the US explains hiring policy
THE Indian owner of an Indian restaurant in Texas, United States, has explained why she does not hire Indians at her business. Rashmi Bhat, owner of 7 Monk’s Cafe, recently shared an Instagram video that opened with a provocative statement — “I don’t hire Indians at my Indian restaurant.”
7 Monk’s Cafe, located in New Braunfels, Texas, serves Indian and Mediterranean cuisine. Rashmi Bhat opened the restaurant with her mother in 2019, shortly before Covid hit. Despite launching during one of the most difficult periods for the restaurant industry, the business survived the pandemic and gradually established itself as a popular dining destination among residents.
‘I don’t hire Indians’
In her Instagram video, Mumbai-born Rashmi Bhat explained why she does not hire Indian workers at her restaurant.
“I don’t hire Indians at my Indian restaurant,” she said, admitting that it “usually surprises people”.
Bhat said the reaction stems from assumptions many customers make when they visit ethnic restaurants. According to her, diners often expect the staff serving food and interacting with customers to come from the same cultural background as the cuisine being offered.
“When most people walk into an Indian restaurant, they assume everyone working there has to be an Indian,” said Bhat. “But that’s never how we hired.”
The restaurateur explained that, from the beginning, she and her mother prioritised building a team based on attitude, reliability and willingness to learn rather than ethnicity or cultural background. Their goal, she said, was to create employment opportunities for people in the local community while growing the business.
‘We built a great team’
“When my mom and I opened 7 Monk’s Cafe, we didn’t set out to build an Indian team. We set out to build a great team, regardless of their skin colour. So we hired high school students, college students, single moms, retirees looking for a second chance,” the Indian-American restaurateur explained.
Bhat said that some of her employees had never even tried Indian food before they started working at her restaurant, but today they have favourite Indian dishes that they can recommend to customers.
Her post has sparked a discussion about ethnicity and authenticity on Instagram, where her video has collected over 1 lakh views in just six hours.
“Your hiring policies are impressive but we come to eat authentic food - no Indian cook I’m not eating there,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“I would prefer my Indian food made by an Indian individual lol,” another declared.
“The food won’t have the authentic taste … I went to an Indian restaurant where the staff was Hispanic they didn’t understand any of the items from the menu … when I asked them for chat they offered me chai,” a viewer revealed.
