(upbeat music) - [Interviewer] How is your menu different from what Tennesseans might imagine when they think Indian food?

- So the whole thing, when I do 615chuTNey, a very Indian affair.

It means that I'm serving food which you do not get anywhere else.

And I said, okay, let's have our cuisine focus on just the South Indian items.

- Because that's where you're from is Saudi.

- That's where I'm from, and living in the United States since 2007, I've always noticed that every restaurant that you go to, it's the same tikka masala, it's the same butter chicken, and the very, very basic usual menu items would not.

Our cuisine is, being from the South, the curries by default are dairy- and gluten-free.

So we do not add heavy cream to mellow down the spice at all.

So everybody was like always into chicken tikka masala, which is basically from Scotland.

- Tell me more about that real quick.

- Yeah, we know that chicken tikka masala is not from India, so chicken- - I don't think most people do know that in Tennessee.

- No, not everybody knows that.

- We're clarifying a misconception right now.

- Oh yeah.

Back in the day when nobody was exposed to South Indian food, this was the only go-to.

The story about chicken tikka masala is it was invented by an Indian out of Scotland, and people who come and ask for chicken tikka masala, we do give them chicken tikka masala, but that'll be the first and the last time they'll eat chicken tikka masala in 615chuTNey.

(interviewer laughs) I got you.

Come on, follow me.

- I came here the first week they were open to get takeout, and I came back in for a sit-down meal about two and a half months later, and Niroop greeted me by name.

We always feel incredibly welcome here.

We love the food, but we love the owner as much as we love the food.

(upbeat music) - I wanted to talk to you about your approach to hospitality, because I know that's so important to you.

And what does it mean to you to really offer a spot with rich hospitality?

- The one thing that's lacking in the hospitality industry right now is hospitality.

- Hm.

- When somebody walks into my restaurant, he or she is a celebrity.

It's a guest who walks into my home, and that's how I welcome them.

So that's why they come back.