Midtown Lunch

Grub Street is reporting that Bombay Bistro, the new Indian buffet I wrote about earlier today, is in fact owned by the same people who own Jackson Diner in Queens:  “When we called Diwan’s old number we were connected to the new bistro. A rep told us that Diwan’s original owners, who also operate Jackson Diner, are behind Bombay Bistro.”

The strange thing is I had a whole conversation about this yesterday with two different people at the Bombay Bistro- without letting them know why I was asking.  Here’s how it went:

When i ate there yesterday, I first asked the guy who seated me if they were owned by the same people who own the Jackson Diner, and he said “Yes, we are.”  But then later, when I met the guy who claimed to be the owner, I asked him if he owned other restaurants, and he said “Yes, in New Jersey.”  And I said, “Oh, just New Jersey?” And he said “Yes.” So I said “Oh, because I heard that this place was owned by the same owners as the Jackson Diner” and he said “Well, I was the manager at Diwan for 15 years, and the people who own Diwan also own the Jackson Diner. But I own this place.”

Being that Jackson Diner has become such a Queens Indian food destination, it would make sense that their “rep” would play up the Jackson Diner connection for PR purposes.  Or was the Diwan “manager” downplaying other investors involvement in order to seem more important himself?  I guess in the end it doesn’t matter… the buffet was really good for the price.  But I am kind of curious.