SUBZI MANDI 10.20.08

A modest undertaking by no means, the prime location of Subzi Mandi on Maple Road between Coolidge and Crooks means that shoppers looking for prime Indian groceries expect the best from owners Sudha and Raj Immadisetty.

And so far, they have not been disappointed.

The retail venture, the third store for the Immadisettys, specializes in fine imported Indian foodstuffs and accessories, many by the Laxmi brand, caters to a growing clientele of South Asians in metro Detroit.  Offerings range from bulk rice, cereal, a seemingly endless variety of spices, fresh vegetables, housemade sweets, and uniquely, freshly crushed and squeezed cane sugar juice.

A staple in India, cane sugar juice is a delightful greenish pick-me-up that at Subzi Mandi is primed with ginger,  “In India, ginger is protection against heat stroke,” laughs owner Sudha Immadisetty.  “Here, it’s taste.  But the drink is a great source of vitamin C.”

The couple, from Andhra Pradesh, have an eight-year-old daughter named Prema.  According to Raj, the Subzi Mandi customer base is between fifteen and twenty percent non-Indian.  “We get a lot of lovers of spicy foods, no matter their nationality.”

Raj, who came to the United States as an engineer and quickly went to work for Chrysler, is enjoying his new life as a shop owner, especially with such high profile locations.  Along with wife Sudha, the inroads the Immadisettys are making as ‘specialty foods specialists’ in the Detroit area is proof of the multi-cultural aura that defines our city.