When Vijayakumari Devadas founded Staten Island's first Sri Lankan restaurant in 2000, she had no idea that her neighborhood of Tompkinsville would become the biggest Sri Lankan community in the United States. Fifteen years later, her business is surrounded by compatriot eateries, and its homestyle menu still attracts diners from throughout the tri-state area.
The change has been gradual but profound. As Devadas serves a panoply of Sri Lankan specialties to a broad range of customers, she still finds it amazing that a cuisine that was once unheard of in this part of the world is now an everyday meal for the entire city to enjoy.
Visit New Asha at 322 Victory Blvd. on Staten Island.
© Soundtrack by Jason Kelley (cowboymusic.bandcamp.com). All rights reserved.
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