Any business that survives 25 years is a testament to its daily operations, but for a restaurant to survive 25 years is a testament to the quality of food it delivers each and every day it is open.

Indian Mumtaj on Woodlark Street turned 25 in July. A moment that brought a broad smile to the face of owner Jasjit (Jas) Gill. Although in the scheme of history for Jas' family, 25 years is just a drop in the ocean.

"My great, great grandfather came in 1895 from Punjab in India by boat. They came straight to the Lismore area from Tweed Heads. And then afterwards, he was going back and forth to India, and then gradually his four sons came over.

"Those four sons are the ones who established themselves in this area. So my great-grandfather was established in Lismore, while his three brothers were in Coffs Harbour, up near Tweed Heads, and the other one was in Lismore with him. They're the ones that kind of started doing the sugar canes and all that sort of work in the area.

Jas' mother doesn't have the long Lismore roots, arriving in Lismore in her early teens, after spending some time in Kalgoorlie, 600km east of Perth.

"Her dad was doing work on the railroads out there, but this was always sort of home for us. She ended up back here at Main Arm. She was going to school out in Mullum, which was in the '60s. And then, as she grew older, Lismore became more home."

Jas' love of cooking Indian food came from his memories at the old Rous Hotel, where La Baracca is now.

"One of my first memories was sitting there with mum and dad in the restaurant, seeing what they were doing. Mum always used to make the samosas and things like that. At home, I'd always be playing in the kitchen, going with dad, learning things, seeing what he was doing, and I guess it kind of grew from that.

School didn't provide any passion for Jas; however, cooking did. He worked in his brother's restaurant in Ballina, and since 2007, Jas has been in the kitchen ever since, loving every moment.

Indian Mumtaj started in 2000 when Jas' mother found the old Seafood Inn at the back of Eggins Lane was up for lease when he was about 12 or 13 years old.

"We signed a lease and started in there, and then pretty soon after, there was a flood, which was ironic, because I remember walking from Wyrallah Road all the way to town with my Dad, and when we got there, we saw the water was just lapping the top. So we were like, Oh, great, it's fine. We opened the doors, and then everything's floating inside, because it had come up through the drains. It had all come through the back of the restaurant.

"Then, Mum opened up on Molesworth Street, and that would have been until 2014. I think we went through a couple of floods over there as well. And then I bought this building back then, and have been here ever since. 11 years and three floods, I think."

(Jas Gill inside Indian Mumtaj)

It is funny how business owners in Lismore's CBD count their time by how many floods they have been through.

As for tips in surviving 25 years in the restaurant business in a flood zone?

"It's not easy, but it's definitely the customers. This last flood definitely took us the longest to bounce back from. Partially to do with the loss of one of my close friends. Ever since 2007, he was my handyman. We always built everything together, and he ended up getting quite sick in the first week after the floods. He ended up passing away about a year and a half later, and that was the blessing that flood gave. It gave me that time to actually spend with him. So, that was kind of why it took a little bit longer this time. But it was a silver lining.

"When we came back, the whole street was empty, so it was hard enough to start being the only thing here after six o'clock at night. Now it's slowly picking up. Things are slowly coming away from Keen Street and focusing back on Woodlark Street and Molesworth Street a bit more. It's gradually becoming a town centre again."

While flooding has always provided a setback to the community, COVID provided an opportunity.

"COVID was something that we actually thrived in. When those sort of things happen, you adapt, or you don't do well. We focused on different communities. We focused on home deliveries. We focused on regional deliveries. And that was actually one of our busiest times we ever had. It took thinking outside of the actual box of what everyone else was doing. We set up our dining room as a sort of Indian spice shop as well."

To be in the restaurant business for 25 years is to be celebrated. The bottom line is learning and cooking with love.

"It's always been mum and dad's recipes, but I guess it's whose hand comes to it that adds that sort of touch. We've taught in the area. Probably out of all the restaurants, 90 per cent of them have spent time being taught by us. So, they've all come through our kitchens, besides probably two restaurants in our whole area, from Byron all the way down to here. They've all got their own touch to it.

"The spices and everything we've always kept. I still make all the spices by hand. I still do everything. We kind of just show the chefs, the nighttime cooking, not the back background stuff."

Jas is in the process of selling his handmade Indian spices.

"We're in the process of just starting to market them. So as far as like, what you'll be able to get the same sort of stuff, like Chai mixes, syrups, spices, all these sorts of things that we ground ourselves. I'm just waiting on some of the equipment to come through, then we can start packaging it nicely."

You should be able to purchase Indian Mumtaj spices by the end of 2025 at local shops. Keep an eye out or ask Jas when you dine at his restaurant at 35 Woodlark Street. If you haven't dined there, click here to check out the menu.

Indian Mumtaj, 25 years and going strong in the Lismore CBD. A true Lismore survivor.