Consider visiting a restaurant that is as warm, familiar and familial as a friend’s kitchen. Imagine the walls, lined with family photos, and the smell of cumin, coriander and chilies lingering over good company.
Since 1993, Tucson’s India Oven (2727 N. Campbell Ave.) has proudly served up a taste of Indian home cooking. Harmesh and Raksha Bhatti, the proprietors of this longtime Tucson-staple, find their second home inconspicuously nestled in a Campbell mini mall. The restaurateurs, as much as the restaurant itself, attract patrons from across the valley to experience the welcoming warmth of India Oven.
For 24 years, the Bhattis, as dedicated proprietors to their business, arrive some hours before the restaurant’s opening, and stay hours after close. On one such day two weeks ago, the Bhattis returned from a full day of work to find their home ransacked and burgled.
“We had been working here all day,” Raksha said. “We no go home until very late, sometime like 10:30 p.m., and to see our home like that…very sad. They took everything.”
It would seem the burglars left no stone unturned. Tears well in Raksha’s eyes, as she explains the totality of the burglar’s damage. Generations of jewelry, all gone; the delicate gold bands that linked Raksha to the communal memory of her parents, as well to the memories of her wedding day and granddaughter’s birth, all lost. A 65-inch, flat screen television Raksha bought for Harmesh on Thanksgiving: gone. Computers housing files and photos, as well as cameras used to document the many journeys of the Bhatti family: gone.
In addition to the many family heirlooms and memories lost to the burglary, the Bhatti’s home was also destroyed.
“They smashed up the whole couch and throw our clothes across house,” Raksha said. “They smashed up everything: all my paperwork… everything. It is very scary.”
Though Tucson police responded to the scene, no leads have been determined. Additionally, the Bhatti’s home was uninsured during the time of the accident.
“Our people do not think about it that way,” Raksha said. “I have little idea how to take insurance, I never thought we’d need it. We work 24 year in this place. We think America is good… We never think something like this could happen in our community.”
The Bhattis now set out to rebuild their home. Though the police have yet to catch the culprits of this crime, Raksha remains hopeful that good will prevail.
“At least I have this business,” Raksha said. “We will build again. It is no easy for me, but we will build again with community help.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2017.
Please get business insurance. For you and for your customers.
surely has notjing to do with Trump raises tje hackles of stupid, white nationalists who are, now, above reproach
I’m confused…. India Oven is on Campbell (and these people look familiar from there). New Delhi Palace is on Broadway.
India oven is on Campbell, not Broadway. 2727 N Campbell. They need our support (and fact checking). And “sanctuary City” bro? It was their house, not their business.
Heartbreaking
Oh no! I’m so very sorry for Mr. & Mrs Bhatti, India Oven is our favorite Tucson restaurant! We were just there in early June, saw the new granddaughter, what a wretched thing to have happen!
So hard to lose heirlooms but after awhile it’s almost a blessing, to be rid of them. The older you are however, the more difficult it can be to see it this way. The violation of one’s personal space is worse than the loss of things. In the meantime, is there a gofundme page to right the ship, so to speak? Best of luck to them, and peace.
It’s on Campbell near GLENN STREET, nowhere near Broadway. About half a block south of Glenn St.
Headline alert. Restaurateurs is the correct spelling.
Sorry to hear this news. The Bhattis run our favorite Indian restaurant in Tucson. India Oven has been a mainstay for many.
So you changed the article to reflect that the business is on Campbell… but it’s NOT “near” Broadway.
Glenn, yes. Even Grant, yes. Broadway, no.
How difficult is this?
Because the criminals went beyond theft to also extensively vandalize their home, could this also be a hate crime?
I have eaten there many times and have always enjoyed it. Excellent food, friendly people. So sorry they have been victimized.
However, if people wish to patronize the restaurant in order to support the owners, please get the location correct. It is nowhere near Broadway. BTW, it’s also Bhattis plural, not Bhatti’s, possessive. Bad journalism altogether. (Says someone whose degree is in journalism.) Meanwhile, SUPPORT THE RESTAURANT. Excellent food.
I haven’t lived in Tucson for many years, but this was always my favorite Indian restaurant! So sorry to hear about the burglary – I remember the owners fondly.