(energetic, percussive music) - In India, we never cook.

My mom and my dad came in '95.

Because I was a spoiled kid, my mom didn't believe.

So my mom said, "Are you sure?

Am I sure?

Am I looking at my daughter?"

So nobody believes that I cook.

I'm cooking still.

Since '94, August, I'm still cooking.

(relaxed jazz music) Hi.

Welcome to Sree's Foods.

My name is Vydehi.

- I'm Shiv Papireddy.

- We enjoy cooking, and we want our customers to be happy.

And he won't compromise.

Sometimes I try to cut corners, honestly, (laughing) tell you the truth, and he won't agree.

- Anything worth doing, I mean, I always believe it should be worth doing well.

(mournful piano music) - Me and Sree, my late husband, we came to country in '88, and we started in 1994.

In those days, there are not that many restaurants in Pittsburgh.

We had four locations in those days.

And I was cooking all the food, I was behind the screen, and Sree was managing everything.

Everything was smooth sailing.

But 2008, October, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig.

Then he passed away in 2011.

I couldn't manage all the stores, so I slowly cut down each, and then we stopped on the one.

Then I met him.

2015, we got married.

2016, still running the business.

We are trying to get pandemic assistance.

- Well, for almost three months, I think.

Two months, three months?

We were closed, totally closed.

- Till we got into (murmurs).

We're dependent on employees in downtown.

Unless they come back to work, we don't have business.

If we make 60 lunches, that will cover all expenses.

There are days we did only 10 lunches.

- Our aim is now to stay in business.

- That's all we are doing.

- (laughs) Not go out of business.

(Vydehi chuckles) (slow, intense music) The day starts at 4:30 in the morning, during pandemic, otherwise it is 3, 4 o'clock, and then we can start cooking.

It can go anywhere from 7:30 to eight o'clock.

- Eight.

- We have two options, chicken lunch or vegetarian lunch.

One is milder and the other one is spicier.

Comes with the brown rice and bread, common for everything.

Sree's, always, we can assure you, healthy, fresh, and affordable.

Those three things, we keep it.

- Tasty, she forgot this!

(Vydehi and Shiv laugh) - And tasty.

- Yeah, tasty, obviously.

- Of course.

(laughs) (slow, intense music)