From the outside, Samosas & Spirits in North College Park looks like a typical liquor store. Inside, it smells like an Indian cafe.
In the back section of the two-room store is a small cafe serving samosas, pakora, tiki and other Indian snacks alongside wine and liquor.
“What we are doing there is we are telling people that they can buy the drinks, but they can also try the Indian snacks,” said co-owner Sumit Khaneja. The half liquor store, half cafe opened in June.
The store takes its name from its specialty: samosas, triangular pastries filled with peas, potatoes, herbs and spices. The menu lists 11 items, including vegetable puffs, masala fries and gulab jamun, all priced under $8.
“The aroma of India really starts with tasting a samosa,” Khaneja said. “Everyone knows it’s, like, kind of the fries of India.”
Those aromas draw customers of the liquor store, located in the front of the establishment, into the colorful cafe, furnished with high-top chairs, two tables and a small kitchen in the back.
The signature dish features two samosas with three chutneys, ranging from sweet to hot. Chutney is a “key part” of the snack because it moistens the samosas’ dry filling, Khaneja said, dipping one into a red tamarind chutney and another into a green mint sauce.
Staff suggest which wines and Indian beers pair best with the food. A bubbly prosecco goes well with a samosa, said Khaneja, who hands out free samples of the snacks to first-time customers.
“And then we tell them, ‘Hey, you can pair these samosas with this drink,’” he said.
Cody Gale, a Rockville resident who works in College Park, tried his first samosa in August.
“I thought it was a clever idea to have a small cafe back here where you can grab some samosas and quick Indian fare and have a couple of beers,” Gale said. He praised the snack’s herbs, spices and texture and said he prefers the green chutney.
Gale added that the cafe fills a void in College Park, which has few Indian food options and only one other liquor store.
The food is prepared in a Rockville kitchen and warmed on site, Khaneja said. All menu items are based on family recipes.
Khaneja credited his wife and the store’s co-owner, Nidhi Khaneja, for the concept.
“She came up with the whole menu, and she said, ‘Let’s try to, kind of, create something different,’” he said. “It’s most of my mother and my wife coming together, and we kind of created a blend of what needs to be done.”
Councilmember Jacob Hernandez (District 1) called the business “unique.”
“I was really excited to see that there was a new business that was going to be bringing a unique twist of food options in North College Park,” Hernandez, whose district includes the store, said.
The minority-owned store “brings a twist to the cuisine and make[s] College Park a unique, yet enjoyable place to live,” Hernandez said.
The shop sits in a strip mall off IKEA Center Boulevard near chain restaurants including Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
Khaneja said he wants Samosas & Spirits to offer residents something different while introducing them to Indian culture.
“When they go into a liquor store, they are treated as, you know, it’s a transaction. … And we don’t want that,” he said. “If you’re here for an experience, if you are here for knowledge, you come here.”
Khaneja immigrated from India with his family in 1996. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2005 and retired this year from a career in information technology for retail businesses.