Looking for authentic Indian cuisine? Find it in an unexpected spot near Warner Robins

After working at an Indian restaurant in Warner Robins, Alex Johnson wanted to do something different.

After working at gas stations, he decided to try his hand at owning his own business, opening a convenience store in nearby Centerville in January 2023 where he also offered pizza and wings.

“If you don’t try, you don’t know,” said Johnson, a native of India.

But the convenience store at 104 Cambridge Drive, which is off the beaten path, turned out not to be the best location.

To meet that challenge and “because I’m a good cook,” Johnson said he decided to start offering authentic Indian cuisine about six months ago. Alex Indian Food & Fast Food store was born.

“People are liking my food and putting in some good reviews,” said Johnson, who’s cooking put his convenience store on the map.

He’s received rave reviews on social media and by word of mouth.

“Everybody is talking about this place so I wanted to try it,” said Chahya Goorah, who was out running errands recently for her cake-making business, Simply Wonderful Cakes, when she stopped by.

Goorah, who hails from Mauritius and lives in Macon, tried the vegetable samosa appetizer, the paneer butter masala and a small order of naan.

Vegetable samosas are triangular-shaped pasties stuffed with potatoes and green peas with Indian herbs and spices and then fried, according to the menu.

The paneer butter masala consists of cottage cheese cubes cooked with tangy tomato, cashew nut sauce, Indian spices, unsalted butter, onions and cream, while the menu described the naan as small Tandoori butter naan cooked on a clay oven to give it a smoky flavor and topped with butter.

“It was all so good,” said Goorah, who heard about Alex’s Indian Food through the popular Facebook group, Robins To-Go. “People were right.”

Authentic Indian dishes

Johnson now offers more than 20 authentic Indian meals, along with a few appetizers and sides. He also expanded his fast food choices.

Most of the food is prepared in the store, Johnson said. But some sauces and a few dishes that require a tandoor are cooked at home and then brought to the store, refrigerated and then reheated when ordered, he said.

Also, the naan is ready-made and heated in an air fryer at the store, he said.

The most popular dish is the butter chicken with a cashew nut sauce and rice, Alexander said.

The menu describes the dish as chicken cooked with rich tomato sauce, cashew nuts, Indian spices, butter and fresh cream.

All the dishes come with extra long grain basmati rice.

Another customer favorite is the hyderabadi biryani made with chicken. The menu describes the dish this way:

“Extra long grain and aged Basmati rice from the foothills of the Himalayas, cooked chicken on the bone then marinated in yogurt and spices and steamed to retain all its flavors.”

Johnson also suggested the desi dhaba style chicken curry with rice, which is cooked in a curry sauce with coconut, poppy seeds and sesame seeds, simmered in a rich onion and tomato gravy and seasoned with chili, garlic and an array of spices.

Another popular dish is the goat curry, which the menu describes as tender pieces of goat meat on the bone cooked with ginger and garlic paste with Indian spices to give the meat a “great” aroma.

“Indian food is very healthy because of all the spices,” Johnson said. “All the spices give a good flavor and aroma.”

Most Indian dishes have about 14 different species and herbs, though some simpler dishes may have less and a few other dishes may have more, Johnson said.

Each dish may be ordered mild, medium or hot, with spices adjusted accordingly.

Aroma is important because it wets the appetite for what’s about to be enjoyed, he said.

Passion for cooking

Johnson’s passion for cooking was ignited when he started helping out in the kitchen while working the front desk of hotels in Dubai. He later worked in the kitchen of small restaurants.

When he came to the U.S. in 2011, he worked in both the front and the back of the house — including as a curry chef — for an Indian restaurant in Columbus called the Taj Mahal which later closed, according to the owner, Baljinder Singh.

Johnson moved to Warner Robins in 2014 and worked at Curry Mantra, which later changed ownership and became 7 Spices Authentic Indian Restaurant and Bar. Before ownership changed, Johnson worked as a manager in the front of the house, waited tables and filled in as needed in the kitchen, according to the former owner, Ashwin Patel.

He lives in Warner Robins with his wife, Mary, who helps with the cooking, and his three adult children, who also help out at the store.

More food options

His fast food menu includes Indian-style tandoori chicken drumsticks, which are described as being marinated in Indian spices, yogurt and cooked in a tandoor.

He also offers wing flavors such as lemon pepper, dipping sauces, fish and chicken tenders, a crunchy hamburger, pizza, and french fries.

Although most of his customers order their food to go, Johnson added a few tables and chairs for those who want to dine in.

Indian grocery

He also created what he calls an Indian grocery inside the convenience store, a long aisle of shelves filled mostly with spices, lentils, rice and teas.

Among the shelf items are bags of cumin seeds, green cardamom, whole gloves, cinnamon round, cumin powder, extra hot chili powder, turmeric powder, mustard seeds, anistar, bay leaves, masoor dal, cashew pieces and fried green onions.

Johnson also sells bags of garam masala powder, which is a ground mixture of about a dozen of the spices found on the shelves commonly used in Indian cuisine, he said.

Among the teas are instant cardamom tea and instant ginger tea that include the tea leaves, powdered milk and sugar.

He also features goods from Prachi Henna Art, including hand-twisted rings, earrings and nose rings, embroidered hats, jewelry boxes and small handbags.

Alex Indian Food store is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. He stops serving food at 10:30 p.m. The number is 478-333-1146.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Johnson’s past experience in restaurants.