RASA Will Bring Its Fast-Casual Indian Bowls to Two New Locations

In the next six months or so, RASA will be making three times as many chicken “Tikka Chance on Me” bowls. Washingtonian reports that the well-regarded, fast-casual Indian counter in Navy Yard plans to open a second location this winter in Mt. Vernon Triangle (475 K Street NW) and a third next spring near Amazon’s incoming HQ2 headquarters in Crystal City (2200 Crystal Drive, Suite F, Arlington).

Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Partners Sahil Rahman and Rahul Vinod opened RASA in December 2017 with a stated mission to introduce Indian food to an audience that didn’t have a reference point for Goan spiced beef, turmeric ginger shrimp, or lamb kebabs.

Over the next year, the pair would win a two-and-a-half-star review from Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema, who gave them bonus points for their attentive service, their “rousing” pumpkin soup, and their insistence on grinding garam masala on-site. Rahman and Vinod also earned one of 18 coveted spots on Eater’s annual list of Young Guns representing the service industry’s top talent under the age of 30.

To help fund the expansion, Rahman and Vinod have added Vernon Davis as a “significant investor.” The 35-year-old Redskins tight end has made nearly $80 million over the course of his 14-year NFL career. Davis, who starred at Dunbar high in D.C. before the University of Maryland, also owns several Jamba Juice franchises. Rahman and Vinod are Maryland alums, too.

• “Fine Fast-Casual” Indian Restaurant RASA Plans a Major DC-Area Expansion with Redskins Star Vernon Davis [W]
• Next-Generation Indian Restaurant RASA Rises in Navy Yard [EDC]
• RASA brings a new generation’s spin on Indian food [WaPo]
• Eater Young Guns 2018: Meet the Winners [E]