Enlarge A sampling of Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine's menu. By RHIANNON BOWMAN

Posted: October 1st, 2009 Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

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Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine
7128-A Albemarle Rd.

Joe Estibeiro, co-owner

Six months after Joe Estibeiro arrived in Charlotte to work at Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine, then owned by family friends, his brother died in an accident at sea. Like Joe, he was a merchant marine for Mobile Oil. Now, the only son, his family decreed that he could never work at sea again.

A native of Bombay (now Mumbai), India, he says he decided to give the restaurant business a sincere try after his brother's death and because he was trying to establish himself in America. Bombay, he explains, is a huge city, much like New York City, so when he first arrived in Charlotte he says he thought, "This is a village."

So, after two years in Charlotte, Estiberio decided to try his luck as co-owner of a restaurant in Staten Island, N.Y. It didn't take long, though, before he returned to his American hometown. "There was something about Charlotte that kept knocking on my heart," he says.

Today he's happy to raise his two young children here and says he enjoys the peaceful, friendly people. Plus, he adds, it would have taken him much longer to establish himself in a larger city.

Since his family is Catholic, Estibeiro did not grow up in a household that prohibited meat like many other Indian households would have due to their religious beliefs. So, while none of the menu items hold any special meaning for him or his family, he says he's particularly proud of the restaurants new organic menu and the fact that 90 percent of everything they make is vegan.

He's also begun adding Indo-Chinese dishes and what he calls "fast food" items, called chaats. The word has Hindi origins and means, "to devour with relish, eat noisily." A chaat a fried dough stuffed with a variety of ingredients -- like onion, lentils or potatoes -- that's often served from roadside stalls in India.

Since returning to Charlotte, in 2005, Estibeiro has, with the help of two friends, expanded the Woodlands brand, which now has locations in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine, 704-569-9193

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