The bars on Glenwood get old. East Village is consistently more crowded than a basketball game. Bar hoppers have their choice of quality watering holes throughout the area, but Maanjri Lounge on Hillsborough Street shatters the preconceived notions of Raleigh nightlife. Maanjri is elegant, fun, eclectic and a taste of the culture which other large cities are known for.
Guests can enjoy their favorite cocktail, kick back with a beer, warm up with an espresso drink or smoke flavored tobacco from hookah pipes.
Owner and N.C. State alumnus Gaurav Patel wanted students to have the opportunity to be able to have a good time and walk home to campus and the surrounding Hillsborough neighborhoods.
“It’s the prime location for students,” Patel said. “I had been to Student Senate meetings and I learned and paid attention to what students said they wanted.”
Combining a life-long dream to own a bar, Patel took what he heard at the meetings and gave the students what they wanted. Patel, who recently turned 22, said Maanjri is just a fraction of what he hopes to do in the future with his business background.
According to Patel, opening a bar can have its drawbacks too. Patel had to wait almost four months after he had everything set to go before he could officially open Maanjri.
Although Patel passed his city inspections in August, he couldn’t get an ABC permit to sell liquor without making some promises to University Parks Home Owner’s Association.
“There are some pretty powerful people on Hillsborough Street,” Patel said.
Residents behind Maanjri Lounge were against a bar opening because of negative opinions they had, thinking that bars are bad news and trouble, based mainly on previous experiences.
Using his negotiating skills, Patel convinced the UPHA that Maanjri would cause no such trouble and developed a contract with them.
It took tweaking the contract for almost two months before Patel and UPHA came to an agreement.
Patel celebrated a successful opening night on Dec. 3, as 350 guests swarmed Hillsborough Street waiting to get into Maanjri.
Having about 60 percent of his staff being students draws a big crowd from N.C. State too.
Patel said he expects a lot more students to come in the next few weeks.
“We opened right before many students went home for the holidays,” Patel said, explaining why occupancy hasn’t been to capacity each night.
Patel bought the location in November of 2004 and began to plan Maanjri before he graduated.
“The building was not in good condition when I got it,” Patel said. “It was practically demolished when I started to work on it.”
Patel looked to his girlfriend, Julie Kathrotia, to help pick and create artwork for the decor of Maanjri Lounge. Kathrotia’s original painting of a belly dancer cements the bars eastern feel.
“The painting is supposed to be of a belly dancer to add to the theme with the hookahs,” Kathrotia said. “The ambiance has an Indian appeal so the painting of the lady with a veil seemed apt.”
Jennifer Zayden, a regular Raleigh bar hopper, thought wonders of Maanjri. “It doesn’t look like a bar that belongs in Raleigh, especially on Hillsborough Street,” Zayden said. “That said, I am glad that it has opened so that people in Raleigh can get a taste of more culture.”
John Hopeck, a senior in economics, enjoyed being out on Hillsborough Street for a change. “I usually go out with my friends on Franklin Street,” Hopeck said. “But now we actually have a reason to stay closer to campus.”
