Indian cuisine is coming to Columbus.
Pankaj Patel, who operates Columbus Inn & Suites, said Tandoori Oven is slated to open Jan. 16. The new restaurant will be located at the inn, in the spot that once housed Good Time Lounge. It is located at 506 Hwy. 45 N.
Tandoori Oven will have a lunch buffet seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner will be served from 5 to 9 p.m. everyday, Patel said.
The menu will feature traditional Indian food: curry lamb, chicken, fish, as well as kabab and other variations. Breads served at the restaurant will be baked inside a tandoor oven, a clay oven native to India. The restaurant will also cater to the sports bar and grill crowd, Patel said.
There are rumors an Indian restaurant will be opening in Starkville soon. We plan on taking a look at it in next week’s column.
A note for burger fans.
The folks behind Potter’s Drive-In in Columbus are planning to expand the restaurant.
Since March, when it opened, the take-out-only eatery has been serving customers out of a small building near the corner of Military Road and Jess Lyons Roads. They offer homemade-style hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hamburger steaks, chicken tenders, hot dogs, Po-boys, French fries, onion rings, etc.
Business must be good because Janeane Stokes, the restaurant’s office manager, confirmed earlier this week that Potter’s Drive-In will morph into a full-fledged sit-down restaurant this year. The new restaurant will be located in a building beside the drive-in’s current location.
Specifics still need to be worked out, so Stokes could not say when the move will happen, other than some time in 2014. But when it does, the restaurant will be able to accommodate more than 150 customers at a time. The menu may expand, too.
Until then, Potter’s Drive-In will continue to operate at their current location, where outside picnic tables are available for customers. It is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To place a call-in order dial (662) 327-5511.
Lastly, for folks looking to tighten up: In September, Forged Training Center opened at 3910 Hwy. 45 N., just south of the Exxon and Subway. The focus is CrossFit. CrossFit training is a national fitness program that began in California in 2001. Simply put, it is an intense workout that uses your body weight and strength to work out.
Justin Wofford, the center’s head trainer, said the business’ target audience is everyone “from a 6-year-old to your grandmother.” The center offers one-hour group workouts Monday through Saturday at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wofford and Haily Decker, another trainer, lead each class.
For more information about what is offered and how to join, call Wofford at (662) 549-1320 or Decker at (662) 630-2190.
There is another CrossFit-type option in Columbus: Iron Heart Gym at Wilkins Wise Road. It can be reached at (662) 570-4420.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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