Written in black marker, a sign on the ordering counter of Hurry Back Curry read “closed early to go to my son’s band concert” on a recent Wednesday evening. Underneath, a rudimentary saxophone, labeled as such, illustrated the point. The sign was up for only one night.
By the next morning, owner Sanjay Chandrasekaran was back in the kitchen of Hurry Back Curry, his solo operation in downtown Portland food hall Pine Street Market. At one time, Chandrasekaran ran nine ventures, including four locations of The Sudra, one of Portland’s most notable vegan restaurants. Now, he’s scaled back to focus on one counter, one menu and a schedule flexible enough to allow for the occasional night off.
Working as a kitchen manager at another establishment from 6 to 11 a.m., before opening his food stall by noon and running the business until 9 p.m., the early days of Chandrasekaran’s newest venture have been grueling…