How Delaware’s India Palace weathered COVID-19, change over 31 years

The dining room was quiet. 

Beige leather booths and antique pine paneling filled the quaint space as plastic flower bouquets sat atop empty glass tabletops inside the Elsmere-area India Palace, a family-run locale that has remained seemingly preserved in time during its 31-year run.

Only the sole, sprightly voice of Pinky Kumar could be heard amid clattering pots in the adjacent kitchen where her husband, Sushil Kumar, prepared the restaurant’s traditional fare. Nearby, the flickering fingers of a smoldering fire could be seen inside the clay tandoor oven where the restaurant’s signature naan is made. 

The pair opened the mom-and-pop restaurant on North Maryland Avenue in 1991 and now offer only takeout with reduced hours, hoping to protect themselves and their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic and ever-changing regulations. 

While India Palace weathered over three decades of change, the pandemic took a toll. 

Like millions of other Americans, the pair – who are in their late 50s and 60s – must continue to protect themselves from the virus as regulations are lifted and the country attempts to move on from the pandemic. 

But the hushed takeout-only dining room shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of clientele or recognition.

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The establishment was one of the first Indian restaurants in the state and the Kumar family has since nourished long-standing relationships with their customers, attending their graduations, weddings and even funerals over the decades.

For customers, the locale has come to represent a warm, welcoming hearth where they can gather and break bread with their family, both biological and found. 

“They’re just like my family,” Pinky said.

The third child

Sushil has been the restaurant’s sole chef for over three decades. 

One of nine children, he learned to cook from his mother and developed his passion for the craft in high school when he began to help cook for his family. In 1984, Sushil immigrated to New York and began to contemplate opening a restaurant specializing in his mother’s style of cooking here in the U.S. 

In 1987, Sushil and Pinky married in India before opening the restaurant a few years later on the bustling brick corner near Elsmere. The restaurant, which specializes in Mughlai and Tandoori cuisine, grew a loyal following through word of mouth and developed an eager audience from employees of the various Wilmington-based companies, including DuPont. 

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The Kumar family eventually grew, too, alongside the restaurant, which is argued to also be a part of the kin. 

“I feel like this is their third child,” said Hena Kumar, daughter of Sushil and Pinky. 

Hena and her brother grew up in the restaurant, she said. After coming home from school, the siblings would sometimes fall asleep in the back room of the restaurant, and in high school, they began to help out. 

“It was just amazing seeing my parents start a business and actually have it sustained for so many years,” Hena said. 

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As Hena got older, she remembers receiving cards from customers congratulating her on her graduation from high school, college, and eventually law school.