Meet Inder Raj Gill of Those Indian Guys, the restaurant that proves fast food doesn't have to make you feel guilty
Every once in a while, I stumble across a local business that completely changes my expectations.
That was exactly what happened when I first walked into Those Indian Guys.
I had stopped in to feature them on Best of White Rock, expecting a good meal and a fun local story. What I didn't expect was to find one of the most thoughtful restaurant concepts I've come across in a long time.
The food was incredible. The restaurant was spotless. The staff were welcoming. But after sitting down with co-founder Inder Raj Gill, I realized that none of those things were actually the heart of the story.
Those Indian Guys isn't just about serving Indian food. It's about challenging the way we think about fast casual dining altogether.
A friendship that started in Switzerland
One of the things I love most about these interviews is hearing how businesses actually begin. They're almost never as straightforward as you'd expect.
For Inder, it started thousands of kilometres away from South Surrey.
He and chef Vineet met while attending one of Switzerland's top hotel management schools. Both came from hospitality backgrounds, but with very different stories.
Inder's family owned hotels in Jaipur, India, so hospitality had always been part of his life. Vineet's story was completely different. Growing up in a traditional Indian household where cooking was considered women's work, he was the kid who ignored convention and followed his mother into the kitchen, fascinated by what she was creating. She patiently taught him every recipe, and that early curiosity eventually became a career.
Sometimes life has funny ways of bringing people back together.
Years later, after building careers in different countries, the two found themselves reunited in British Columbia.
What happened next wasn't exactly what either of them expected.
They didn't open a restaurant right away
Like many newcomers to Canada, their journey took a few unexpected turns.
They worked in construction.
When COVID changed everything, they worked in furniture warehousing.
Inder even spent two years driving for Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Ironically, that's where one of the biggest business ideas was born.
While delivering food all day, every day, he started noticing patterns.
He could see which neighbourhoods ordered what. Which demographics preferred certain cuisines. Which restaurants were consistently busy.
He wasn't just delivering food.
He was accidentally conducting one of the largest market research projects imaginable.
The question that changed everything
One observation kept coming back.
People loved Indian food.
They just didn't order it very often.
As Inder explained, traditional Indian food is incredible, but it's also often rich, indulgent, designed to be shared, and can become an expensive family meal rather than an everyday lunch.
That got him thinking.
What if you could create Indian food people could eat every week instead of once a month?
What if it could be quick?
What if it could be healthy?
What if people walked away feeling energized instead of needing a nap?
That's where Those Indian Guys was born.
They hired a nutritionist before they opened
This was probably my favourite part of the interview.
I know a few restaurant owners.
Everyone is passionate about their recipes.
Everyone believes they have the best food.
But Inder is the first person I've ever met who told me they hired a registered BC nutritionist before opening the restaurant.
Not because the food wasn't good.
Because they wanted it to be better.
That really stood out to me.
The goal wasn't to remove flavour or make "diet food."
Quite the opposite.
Chef Vineet developed the recipes. The nutritionist helped fine tune things like marinades, ingredient balance, vegetables, proteins, and portion composition so customers could enjoy incredible food without feeling guilty afterwards.
As someone who pays attention to nutrition myself, I found that fascinating.
It's easy to make food taste amazing by adding more butter, more oil, more cheese, or more salt.
It's much harder to make something incredibly flavourful while also respecting what people are putting into their bodies.
That philosophy runs through everything they do.
Their core value is surprisingly simple
During our conversation, Inder said something that stuck with me.
Every business needs to ask itself one question.
"What are we promising our customer?"
For Those Indian Guys, the answer wasn't simply amazing Indian food.
The promise was that customers could enjoy their meal without feeling like they'd compromised their health.
That doesn't mean every meal is low calorie.
It means every decision behind the menu was intentional.
The wraps, bowls, grilled proteins, vegetables, and ingredients all exist because they support that promise.
I thought that was a really refreshing way to build a restaurant.
Hospitality doesn't stop at the food
As much as we talked about nutrition, I think hospitality might actually be Inder's greatest passion.
Growing up in Jaipur, he watched his father welcome visitors from around the world.
Not because there was something to gain.
Simply because making people feel welcome mattered.
That lesson never left him.
Today, when someone walks into Those Indian Guys, Inder wants them to experience more than lunch.
He wants them to experience Indian hospitality.
To learn a little about the culture.
To have a conversation.
To feel genuinely welcomed.
That mindset comes straight from his family's values, and you can hear how important it is every time he talks about the restaurant.
Even the no tipping policy has a purpose
One thing that surprised me was learning why Those Indian Guys doesn't accept tips.
It's not a gimmick.
It's a philosophy.
Inder explained that because they're a fast casual restaurant where customers order at the counter and pick up their own food, he didn't feel it was appropriate to create the pressure many people feel around tipping.
Instead, he'd rather focus on paying people fairly while creating a welcoming experience that doesn't leave customers wondering what percentage they're expected to add before they even take a bite.
Whether you agree or disagree with tipping culture, I appreciated that there was real thought behind the decision. It wasn't about cutting corners. It was about staying true to the experience they wanted customers to have.
What stood out most to me
When I interview business owners, I'm always listening for the "why."
Why this business?
Why this approach?
Why does it matter?
With Inder, the answer kept coming back to one word.
Value.
Not value in the sense of being cheap.
Value in the sense that every customer should leave feeling like they received more than they expected.
Better food.
Better hospitality.
Better ingredients.
A better experience.
When you build a business around that idea, people notice.
If you haven't tried Those Indian Guys yet...
Do yourself a favour.
Skip the drive-thru one day this week and head over to Those Indian Guys instead.
Whether you're already a fan of Indian food or you've never tried it before, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what Inder, Vineet, and their team have created.
Connect with Those Indian Guys
Those Indian Guys
📍 1881 152 Street, Surrey, BC V4A 9Y9
📞 +1 (778) 552-9558
📧 Inderraj@thoseindianguys.com
🌐 https://thoseindianguys.com/
📸 Instagram: @those_indian_guys
And if you stop in, try one of the wraps.
Trust me on that one.
Want to be featured on Best of White Rock?
One of my favourite parts of creating Best of White Rock is getting to meet the incredible people behind the businesses that make our community special. Every owner has a story, and often it's far more interesting than what you see from the outside.
If you're a local business owner, entrepreneur, or community leader with a story to share, I'd love to feature you in an upcoming episode.
🚀 Apply to be featured here: https://www.bestofwhiterock.ca/get-featured
