by Telemachus Gaffiganiakis
July 10, 2006
Former Hangin' With Mr. Cooper star Mark Curry is branching out from his acting and stand-up comedy career to open an Indian restaurant in Los Angeles. Curry began to enjoy the culinary delicacies of the sub-continent after a friend mentioned his last the name as a popular type of dish in the cuisine.
"It was funny because he said that he liked curry a lot, both because it was delicious and because it was the last name of one of his best friends," said Curry with his giant smile that warmed ABC's TGIF fan hearts from 1992-1997.
Curry's lovable smile will greet all of his guests.
The restaurant will be known as The Curry House and will be located next to a tattoo parlor and what the public has labeled as a "dirty Mexican restaurant." The proprietor of the "dirty Mexican restaurant," Don Valdez, does not expect that The Curry House will damage his business. "It should help us, actually," Valdez said, "I expect there will be more brown people around."
Curry said that The Curry House has been a three-year long dream in the making. "I had been doing some lectures to young adults and my stand-up comedy, but I wanted to take some time away to pursue entrepreneurial interests, and bring this great food out to the public. Some of the dishes are personal creations, others by our master chefs who are brilliant in bringing out the feeling of home-cooked Indian food."
Much of the trouble in putting together The Curry House was funding. Curry did not have enough assets to invest the large amount of money that he wanted to put into the restaurant. He admitted that he fielded an offer from the Maloof brothers, but only if he would build the restaurant in Las Vegas, which Curry refused to do. "I wanted this first restaurant strictly in L.A.," Curry said. "After troubles, I've gathered enough money from banks, friends, and some celebrities who I will not name."
The most notable of Curry's celebrity encounters gone wrong was with fellow actor and surname namesake Tim Curry. "I approached him about the business venture because he has money and his last name is Curry, too, but his response was, 'I can't invest my money in that. Didn't you see what happened to bloody Planet Hollywood'?"
Curry likes to eat spam...a lot.
Construction on The Curry House began this past week. The target date for the opening of the restaurant is January 2, 2007. "We want to begin a new year with some great food," Curry said. "It's the year of the Curry, baby!"