Curry Up Now will debut in Tennessee with a new location opening in Smyrna. The opening expands the fast-casual chain into its sixth state. The restaurant will bring its Indian street food concept to Middle Tennessee, along with Mortar & Pestle, a full-service cocktail bar.
Curry Up Now Brings Indian Fast Casual to Smyrna
Curry Up Now was founded in 2009 by husband-and-wife team Akash and Rana Kapoor. They started a food truck in the Bay Area, which evolved into a brick-and-mortar restaurants.
The new Curry Up Now location will open at 2160 Rock Springs Road, Suite 600. The restaurant will be locally owned and operated by the Patel family. They have called Smyrna home for more than 20 years.
The brand was founded with the purpose of making Indian cuisine more accessible and familiar. The menu features items such as Tikka Masala Burritos, Indian street food, Deconstructed Samosas, Naughty Naan, thali platters, bowls, and Sexy Fries over the years.
The menu also includes options for a variety of dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free, keto, and paleo diets.
Local owner Harsh Patel said the restaurant’s concept is to bring new flavors to the area. “Middle Tennesseans are no strangers to change, especially after the area’s recent explosive growth, yet Nashville’s spirit remains the same: vibrant, hospitable and full of charm—qualities we celebrate in our dishes and atmosphere,” said Patel.
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Curry Up Now Grand Opening Details
A grand opening event will kick off the Smyrna opening at 11 a.m. on August 22 at Curry Up Now. The first 250 guests in attendance will receive a free burrito.
The celebration will feature a live DJ, henna artist, photo booth, prize wheel with t-shirts, mugs, gift cards, and more. Guests will also have the chance to win prizes, including free Curry Up Now meals for a year.
Menu Highlights and Mortar & Pestle Bar Concept
Along with Curry Up Now’s signature food offerings, the Smyrna location will feature Mortar & Pestle. The full-service bar is designed to serve as a community gathering space. The concept will feature a curated cocktail and mocktail program, local Tennessee drafts, whiskey flights, and late-night bites.
The bar’s cocktail menu will feature some unique cocktails like:
- The Junkyard Heart: A vodka and apple brandy riff on a mule.
- The Filter Kaapi: It is a South Indian coffee martini, a blend of chicory coffee and salted coconut milk.
- The Mortar and Pestle: A cocktail made with Tennessee whiskey and rye, served in a mortar.
Mortar & Pestle will also feature Indian and Tennessee spirits through Indian single malts like Indri and Paul John. For guests looking for non-alcoholic options, the bar will offer seven mocktails, including the Chaat GPT and Thumsucker.
The Smyrna restaurant will also feature a new restaurant-only menu item, the Nash & Three. The dish puts an Indian-inspired twist on Tennessee’s traditional meat-and-three meal. The dish includes two tandoori-charred chicken chops served with masala mac, peri-peri corn, saag paneer, and naan.
“The meat and three is one of the great formats in American food, and nobody outside the South treats it that way,” said Akash Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Curry Up Now. “We wanted to serve one. It lives on this menu at this location and nowhere else.”
The Smyrna location of Curry Up Now will be open from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Mortar & Pestle will open later, featuring late-night menus.
