The owners of India House in Michigan City have expanded what was a few shelves of staples into a full-fledged market. You’d have to drive to South Bend or Merrillville to find anything like it.

Our first experience with Indian food in this area was in Chesterton some eight years ago. We pulled into a strip mall and walked into Namaste India. As we sat in a booth waiting for our drinks, Mr. Diva looked around and said, “I thought this looked familiar!” Turns out it had been a Long John Silver’s, and had barely been changed, down to the seafood restaurant’s blue and yellow colors. The booths still had nautical graphic elements, though management had added some traditional Indian clothing to display on the walls, along with Bollywood movies streaming on  televisions. 

The food was good, but in recent years we haven’t liked it as much, and have been instead going to India House in Michigan City, in a strip mall with a crazy huge parking lot, where JoAnn Fabrics was (R.I.P.).

On one visit a few months ago, one of the friendly owners, in between waiting on our table and bringing our food, sat at a sewing machine nearby, making new covers for the restaurant’s booths. 

The new booths are nice, but you don’t come here for the atmosphere (no Bollywood movies or music). The place does a robust takeout business.

Nonetheless, we like eating in, with tall, ice cold Taj beers to accompany. Also, I always made a point after dinner to stock up on rice or red lentils from the small shop behind the register, which, until recently consisted of a couple of shelves. But last night, as I walked around to get my rice, I was in for a big surprise: The owners have taken over the space next to their restaurant and greatly expanded the grocery, naming it Om. 

Om, which opened in August, has several aisles of Indian staples, including aged basmati rice, bags and bags of salty snacks, sauces, well-priced spices, a small produce section and a large frozen food section. Here’s where to shop for your next party: frozen cocktail-size samosas! Naan for your lentil soup! 

They also stock the popular Indian frozen dessert called kulfi; a dense, creamy treat that is not churned like ice cream. Made by reducing milk over low heat for hours, it’s flavored with cardamom, saffron, mango, or pistachios, and then frozen in metal molds. 

The owner tells me that the other closest Indian groceries are in South Bend and Merrillville, so he hopes to draw on customers from LaPorte, Chesterton, Michigan City and Southwest Michigan. If it catches on, he says he’s eyeing another expansion.

Om/India House, 4323 N. Franklin St., Michigan City 219-874-5700