Indian Restaurant Set To Open This Month In Newtown

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — After a long wait, a popular Philadelphia area Indian restaurant is getting ready to open its doors at Goodnoe Corner.

According to a new banner hanging outside the future restaurant site on North Sycamore Street, Amma’s South India Cuisine will open its doors sometime this month.

The restaurant owners received conditional use approval from the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors two years ago to open a 72-seat restaurant at the former Zoës Kitchen on North Sycamore Street. 📸 Follow us on Instagram at Bucksco_Patch

The space, which has been vacant since Zoës closed its doors in February 2023, is now set to reopen as the township’s newest dining experience, featuring the spicy foods of South India.

Amma’s South India Cuisine has built a large following and a reputation for good food at its locations in University City and in Center City Philadelphia and in Voorhees and Maple Shade, New Jersey.

“Here at Amma’s, we bring a part of India to you through its rich and selective variety of food,” says its website. “Our tailor-made menu is created to suit the palates of all our customers and will also give them an authentic taste of some of India’s most popular regional dishes.”

The restaurant, owned and operated by Sathish Varadhan, specializes in homestyle cooking from the southern regions of India and is named “Amma’s” after the Tamil word meaning “mother.”

After immigrating to the United States in 2010, Varadhan opened his first restaurant in Voorhees, New Jersey. He has since opened locations in Maple Shade, and in Center City and University City across the river in Philadelphia.

“We have carved a niche for ourselves in this competitive food industry by offering simple yet delicious food, keeping in mind the quality, quantity, and hygiene,” said Varadhan. “Our vegetables are handpicked fresh, only allowing the best to enter the kitchen. We use a banana leaf to serve food. It gives a different flavor and taste to the food.”

Amma’s menu features innovative dishes based on centuries-old South India culinary traditions. The chefs use fresh produce, all-natural ingredients, and freshly ground spices to create food that is like veetu sapadu (homemade).

"With ethnic recipes fast fading into oblivion, we were extremely keen to revive and make available these delicious dishes to the discerning customer," said Varadhan. "At Amma’s Restaurant, we believe in keeping things pure and precise."

Newtown has been without an Indian restaurant since Guru’s closed its doors at the end of December.

For more information about Amma’s and to view the menu, click here.