The Ashoka West End on Argyle Street, 1980s.
The Ashoka was opened in 1973 by Balbir Singh Sumal, who had worked at the Shenaz and the Taj Mahal restaurants in the city. Balbir went on to open a number of restaurants in the city and the restaurant became the Ashoka Vegetarian for a spell, before it was sold in 1984 to Charan Gill and his business partner Gurmail Dhillon. They built on the success of the Ashoka through their Harlequin Restaurants group, which includes twelve restaurants in the West of Scotland in 2004 and employs 450 people.
The Ashoka has the further distinction of standing on the corner of Glasgow's longest and its shortest thoroughfares, Argyle Street and Clayslaps Road respectively.
Reproduced with the permission of Harlequin Restaurants
Keywords:
Ashoka West End, Asians, curry, eating, Harlequin Restaurants, immigrants, Indian restaurants, Indians