The Desi pub in Dudley serving good quality food and drink and where everyone is welcome
As pubs continue to battle the cost of living crisis, the Express & Star continues its Love Your Local series which celebrates our local inns.
Tapri Punjabi bar and grill in Gornalwood, Dudley, is a newly-opened pub and the owners are hoping to win over the locals by serving good food and good beers.
Business partners Raj Patel and Jas Singh opened the pub in January this year, following the success of their Sutton Coldfield branch, and they have adopted the same name as their coffee shop business, which has one store in the Mander Centre in Wolverhampton, and one in Kettering.
According to Raj, the name Tapri means tea stall, which is similar to the name chai-wallah, which in Hindi is someone who serves tea, and he said the name came about while on a family holiday to Mumbai, India.
Having witnessed a 'tapri-wallah' in India, where all were welcome, no division, people of all walks of life were welcome to enjoy the chai, this is how their business Tapri in Dudley is run, where everyone is welcome; men, women, families, anyone, where they can enjoy the environment and the food and drink on offer.
Raj said: "I grew up in Wolverhampton but spent a lot of time in Dudley as I have a lot of family there.
"So myself and my business partner started with the coffee shops, then opened the Sutton Coldfield Indian bar & grill in 2021, following the Covid pandemic and that was interesting as it was just after the restrictions were lifting.
"We noticed then that the way people go out to dine is different now, and more people want bookings, so we offered that.
"Then I happened to be driving past this place [in Gornalwood] and saw that the pub was on the market, and we were on the lookout for a second site, so we thought why not, let's go for it.
