Lehja Owner Sunny Baweja to Open Tashan Indian Kitchen & Wine in Midlothian

Sunny Baweja, owner of the James Beard-nominated Lehja restaurant in Short Pump, will open a second concept, Tashan Indian Kitchen & Wine, in Chesterfield County this fall. The deal marks his first expansion since 2010, when he opened Lehja after roughly a decade working in the industry.

Baweja leased a 2,400-square-foot end cap space at 15816 WC Main St. in Westchester Commons. The location previously housed a Rusty Taco. Trey Blankinship of Segall Group represented Baweja in the lease. Alex Wotring, David Crawford and Kevin South of Thalhimer represented the landlord.

The timing reflects demand data, not impulse. Baweja said pandemic-era delivery orders from Midlothian neighborhoods such as Hallsley and Salisbury convinced him the market could support a second Indian restaurant. He had explored a second Richmond location before COVID shut those plans down six years ago.

What will Tashan serve?

Tashan, which translates to "swag" from Hindi, will operate as a sister restaurant to Lehja. It will focus on cuisine from the Punjab region of northern India. Baweja described the menu as still in development.

"It'll be pretty, pretty close to Lehja but it has its own style, its own personality," Baweja said. "We are still finalizing the menu details."

Wine will play a supporting role. Tashan will carry a sizable wine list, though smaller than Lehja's cellar, which holds hundreds of bottles. That gap suggests a leaner beverage program suited to a suburban lunch-and-dinner format. Baweja is pushing for a fall opening, with both dayparts offered. Lehja will remain open as usual.

Why now?

Baweja framed expansion as a matter of fit rather than speed. He waited until he sensed the concept, the theme and the market aligned.

"To me, opening a restaurant, it's not just having a place. You need to have a reason why. It should have a theme behind it, and the area should need it and demand it. It should have its own soul," Baweja said. "Until I feel it, I can't just open (one)."

He found the Westchester Commons space this spring after a methodical search. The Che 2,400-square-foot footprint fits a fast-casual-turned-full-service conversion in a suburban retail center.

Is there more real estate in play?

Baweja and his Lehja business partner, Ashok Arora, also made a separate opportunistic purchase last year. The pair bought a Grace Street restaurant building near Virginia Commonwealth University. They do not plan to place their own concept there. Baweja said the building remains available for lease and that discussions with prospective tenants are continuing.

Baweja acknowledged the difficulty of launching a second restaurant, but he framed the challenge as motivation rather than risk. The source does not disclose buildout costs, lease terms or projected staffing levels for Tashan, so the unit economics remain unknown. If the fall opening holds, Midlothian diners will have a second Punjab-focused option within months, and Baweja will finally test the expansion thesis six years in the making.