Award winning 3idiots co-owner, Parveen Sharma, opened a new Indian tapas-style restaurant after he “fell in love” with the space.
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A restaurant boss admits he fell in love with the famous venue that used to house one of Kilmarnock's most iconic pubs.
Indian tapas-style Brown Munde has open at the site that used to be Paris Match in the town centre.
Parveen Sharma said fell head over heels for the loft space venue and knew he had to open a restaurant there.
Parveen, who also co-owns the award-winning 3idiots restaurants in Ayr and Troon, finally opened the venue this week after giving the interior a facelift.
And the opening night saw 50 per cent of profits go towards East Ayrshire food bank.
Parveen said: "Our opening night was very, very busy. We really wanted to open something close to home, as we have a big following here. Kilmarnock had been crying out for some new food joints and we are delighted to join the scene.
"We were also able to hand over £500 to Ayrshire Food Bank which we were delighted with."
Parveen decided to open a new restaurant unexpectedly as he "fell in love" with the space and had a vision of opening a new restaurant with a different concept but with the same tapas-style food.
The new menu serves many of Parveen's favourite recipes that he has used throughout his street food business and other restaurants.
Tapas-style means everyone can try lots of little bits of everything all in one visit.
Parveen worked in many Glasgow restaurants since coming to the UK in 2013. In 2018 as a one-off, he sold food at Dunlop Gala, as they needed an extra caterer.
He said: "It was a huge hit – we sold out in just a few hours. This was the beginning of Sharma's Street Food, a company I ran with my fiancé for 2 years.
"During this time we travelled Scotland, attending many festivals serving up different curry at each. Many people asked where our base was – which got me thinking we needed a permanent base. I opened 3idiots Ayr in 2019 and then 3idiots Troon in 2022 with a business partner and these have both been very popular."
He continued: "We had just opened 3idiots Troon and we were not planning on expanding so soon.
"My fiancé saw the former Paris Match for sale and when we viewed the property, I fell in love with the idea."
While planning his new business, Parveen decided upon the name Brown Munde, as it was a huge hit in the Punjabi music scene in 2020.
Parveen said: "The building is technically a loft – meaning it is not your standard typical restaurant. We decorated it with Indian wedding umbrellas, cool lighting and our huge mural.
"We employed a local artist, Ayrshire Murals, to come up with a mural of me surrounded by my closest Brown Munde – meaning brown boys. These boys have supported me and helped me get to where I am today.
"The mural is quickly becoming the face of our business, so much so, we decided to have it placed as our sign above the restaurant too rather than our usual logo."
The new restaurant is located at 7-9 Princes Street, Kilmarnock and is open on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday from 4pm until 10pm and on Friday-Saturday from 4pm until 11pm. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.
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