The line for the Parvathy’s Kitchen food truck typically ran half the length of the Artisan Alley Farmers Market on Friday nights in Downtown DeLand. Now owner Rachael Paltrow and her family are excited to bring their Indian dishes to Downtown DeLand on more than just Friday nights.

Paltrow’s excitement about opening a restaurant in Downtown DeLand comes from more than just the excitement of sharing her food with the community — although that is a big part of it. For Paltrow and her family, this is the next step in a journey that began 10 years ago.

Paltrow and her husband, Steven, started selling Indian spices at the Friday night farmers market in 2014. But Steven’s background in food service couldn’t help but kick in, and shortly after they first set up, the couple began selling food. It was a hit, Rachael Paltrow said, but so much of a hit that they quickly outgrew their cottage food operation and what their home kitchen could accommodate cooking.

Fast-forward to the summer of 2015 — the Paltrows started Parvathy’s Kitchen, a food truck offering Indian favorites like chicken tikka masala, curries, chai tea and more. It was the culmination, Rachael Paltrow said, of a dream she had had since she was in college. 

Rachael Paltrow grew up in Durban, South Africa, a city with one of the largest Indian populations outside of India. Living in South Africa under the racially segregated apartheid system, she and her family were unable to freely travel the country. It wasn’t until 1994 — when she was a high-school student — that revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela became president and Paltrow began to see people of other ethnic backgrounds in school and around town. 

As a college student at Durban University of Technology, Paltrow said, she often walked by a food stand that served busy students who needed a quick, tasty snack. Pursuing a career in hospitality, Paltrow dreamed of having a similar food stand where she could feed the community. 

It wasn’t until after she moved to the United States and met her husband that her dream was realized. Once she and her husband began Parvathy’s Kitchen, Paltrow had the opportunity to share family recipes — inspired by her Indian family and her heritage as a member of the South African Indian diaspora — with her Central Florida community.

Now with a physical restaurant, Paltrow can continue to fulfill her dream of nourishing the community, but she can do it on her family’s terms.

That’s why, when Parvathy’s opens in late March or mid-April, the restaurant will start with lunch hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and dinner services on Fridays. 

Instead of being open all the time, Paltrow said, her goal is to fill an important DeLand niche and still be able to spend time with her two kids, all while instilling in them the importance of hard work.

The restaurant will be a much bigger operation than the family were used to at the farmers market. With almost 10 years’ worth of Friday nights under their belts, the Paltrows had a pretty good idea of not just how much food to cook, but who they could expect to see, too. 

But with their new space, the sky’s the limit. The family’s plan is to “focus on what works,” Rachael Paltrow said, but once things get going, a menu larger than what the food truck historically offered is possible.

The Paltrows are looking forward to seeing their farmers market regulars, in addition to new customers at their new location. After years of hearing — every night, Rachael Paltrow said — that they should open a free-standing restaurant, the family is excited to give it a go.

“We want our doors to be open so we can serve our community delicious, authentic food,” Rachael Paltrow said. “It’s our pleasure to serve.”