Karma Cuisine & Lounge is set to open this month in the former The Hedge House restaurant space at 2606 N. Monroe, on Spokane’s North Side.

Owners Deepika Dhawan and Manoj Kumar, who are wife and husband and live in Liberty Lake, have three other Indian cuisine restaurants: Indian House Authentic Cuisine, in Post Falls and in Wenatchee, Washington; and Karma Indian Cuisine, in Moscow, Idaho. Dhawan has been working in the food industry for about 15 years, and Kumar has been in the industry for 25 years.

Dhawan says she decided to open a restaurant in Spokane so that her customers didn’t have to drive outside of the city for her food.

“I have lots of customers who come from here to there, but in the wintertime, they can’t make it because of the snow,” she says.

The couple specialize in North Indian food, Dhawan says. Menus at their restaurants are similar, and include dishes such as curries, chicken paprika, a rice-based biriyani dish, and a potato, cauliflower, and turmeric dish called aloo gobi. Most of the entrees are gluten-free. Many are vegan, and all are customizable.

“We're trying our best to give typical Indian-style food, but it's not spicy,” Dhawan says. “We start mild. A very sensitive person can also eat my food. But if you like spicy food, we can add spices for the order.”

Dhawan and Kumar remodeled the interior of the 3,000-square-foot building themselves, Kumar says.

“We redid everything in this building—all new flooring, new paint, everything is new,” Kumar says. “We're just waiting for some booths to be here.”

They also did some work enlarging and cleaning the parking lot.

Dhawan says, “We’re doing our best to improve the place.”

Some elements of the former Hedge House remain. Dhawan says she chose to retain some aspects of the former restaurant and bar, because she understands that the establishment was meaningful to the community.

“When people walk in, they feel it. That's the old Hedge House,” she says.

The couple anticipates opening the restaurant in the middle of this month.

“We want to have everything set up so when the customers come in, they don't feel like they're coming into a restaurant,” Dhawan says. “We want them to have a feeling of the family atmosphere.”

She’ll initially work in both the kitchen and the dining area. Kumar also will work in the front of the house.

“I want to study people the first couple of months, so I know what they want, how to improve,” Dhawan says. “We love to improve. I love to get feedback, because I want people to feel like they can come back.”

Dhawan says six employees will staff Karma Cuisine & Lounge, some of whom are family members of Dhawan and Kumar.

Family and community are important to the couple, Dhawan says.

“We love to do fundraising,” Dhawan says. “We want to serve the community, and we want to be part of it like a family.”

Karma Cuisine & Lounge will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.