Gaia Masala & Burger co-owner Hira Kunwar stands outside the restaurant’s Cap Hill location, next to a photo he said is being used by a nearby restaurant copying Gaia’s menu. (Maia Luem/BusinessDen)
Plenty of Indian restaurants across the country have essentially the same menu.
Diners know they’ll be able to get chicken tikka masala. And palak paneer. And samosas.
But Hira Kunwar and Nandalal Nyaupane, owners of Denver’s Gaia Masala & Burger, say a neighboring restaurant owner has gone too far.
“We’ve been trying to serve the menu and the quality for five years, and they steal it in a second,” Kunwar said.
Gaia first opened in Boulder in 2019. Kunwar and Nyaupane brought the concept to 609 Grant St. in Denver’s Cap Hill neighborhood in 2021, then expanded to LoDo. Locations are in the works in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.
But, in recent weeks, the pair have been paying attention to what’s happening at Denver’s Tikka & Grill.
Tikka, owned by Peter Sitaula, first opened in 2021 on South Broadway. The Indian and Nepali restaurant added a second location last year at 1120 E. 6th Ave.
Kunwar and Nyaupane said the latter location, less than a mile away from Gaia’s Cap Hill spot, is using a near copy of Gaia’s menu online, but with the Tikka name and logo.
The replication stands out in part because Gaia’s offerings go beyond the typical Indian restaurant.
Nyaupane specializes in traditional Indian food, while Kunwar trained in American cuisine after moving to the United States. After starting Gaia, the two — both natives of Nepal — decided to blend the cuisines in which they had experience.
As a result, in addition to classics such as tikka masala and naan, Gaia offers traditional and Indian-inspired versions of burgers, pizza and cheesesteaks, as well as chicken wings, fries and Mediterranean dishes such as falafel.
“Most Indian restaurants have similar menus, but we have our own creation,” Nyaupane said.
Kunwar and Nyaupane point to a website purportedly for Tikka’s 6th Avenue location. The design of it resembles Gaia’s website, and it features a PDF menu that is nearly identical to Gaia’s, from the inclusion of a “Buff Vegan Burger” to the red, blue and yellow color scheme.
The website, which calls the restaurant “Tikka Grill & Masala Burger” and has an online ordering button that doesn’t work, also includes food photos that are on Gaia’s website and displayed at Gaia’s Cap Hill location. Kunwar said his staff took the photos.
Confusingly, there’s another website for Tikka’s 6th Avenue location, which calls it “Tikka & Grill 2 (Masala Burger). There’s no PDF menu, but the “order online” button works, and brings diners to a page with an expansive menu that lists some of Gaia’s dishes, such as the jackfruit tikka masala cheesesteak and the beef gyro pizza.
Websites for Gaia Masala & Burger (top) and Tikka & Grill feature similar designs. (Screenshots)
When a BusinessDen reporter visited Tikka last week and got a takeout menu, it listed only traditional Indian and Nepali foods, and did not resemble the design of Gaia’s menu.
And Gaia isn’t the first restaurant to claim Tikka & Grill has stolen their menu. Kal Pant, owner of the Indian restaurant Spice Room, said the restaurant did the same to him in 2021 when it first opened.
“Food is food,” Pant said. “Chicken tikka masala, everybody’s got it. It’s not that you can’t sell chicken tikka masala. It’s the way I formatted the menu. Getting ideas is one thing, but don’t copy word for word.”
Sitaula, Tikka & Grill’s owner, declined to comment on the record for this story.
According to Gaia’s Kunwar and Nyaupane, this all started about six months ago, when Sitaula asked Nyaupane if he wanted to become business partners. Nyaupane said he declined, stating he wanted to focus on Gaia.
Then, about a month ago, Nyaupane claims, Tikka & Grill began attempting to convince Gaia employees to work for Tikka instead. According to Kunwar, only one employee, who was training as a chef, accepted the offer.
It was after that, Kunwar and Nyaupane said, that they noticed the menu duplications.
In early May, Gaia sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tikka & Grill. If Tikka did not stop using the “complete and exact copy” of Gaia’s menu, it said, the restaurant would be forced to take legal action.
“You are in violation of common law copyright,” the letter reads. “Your use of this menu constitutes unfair business practices, as well. You knew this would cause and is causing extreme emotional distress for the owners of Gaia Masala & Burger, as well as financial harm to them.”
The pair told BusinessDen they received no response to the letter. Kunwar said they’re seeking legal advice, and hope to file a lawsuit within a few weeks.
“They got the legal notice and they did not stop,” Kunwar said. “We have all the evidence. We took pictures, one of our employees went in person, he bought food and we have the receipt.”
In the meantime, Nyaupane said they’re also working on changing Gaia’s menu and adding new dishes.
The Spice Room’s Kal Pant took that approach back in 2021. Pant said he left one message at Tikka, asking to speak with Tikka ownership and that the restaurant stop copying his menu, but never heard back. After that, he thought it best to differentiate himself, change his menu and move on.
“If you poke the bear you’re going to get eaten,” Pant said. “I wanted to get out of their path so I changed my own.”
Pant said he completely changed the format and look of his menu, including dish names and descriptions. He also took down the online version of his menu.
“Legally you never know if you’re going to win, and the time, money, the headache involved,” Pant said.
Gaia Masala & Burger co-owner Hira Kunwar stands outside the restaurant’s Cap Hill location, next to a photo he said is being used by a nearby restaurant copying Gaia’s menu. (Maia Luem/BusinessDen)
Plenty of Indian restaurants across the country have essentially the same menu.
Diners know they’ll be able to get chicken tikka masala. And palak paneer. And samosas.
But Hira Kunwar and Nandalal Nyaupane, owners of Denver’s Gaia Masala & Burger, say a neighboring restaurant owner has gone too far.
“We’ve been trying to serve the menu and the quality for five years, and they steal it in a second,” Kunwar said.
Gaia first opened in Boulder in 2019. Kunwar and Nyaupane brought the concept to 609 Grant St. in Denver’s Cap Hill neighborhood in 2021, then expanded to LoDo. Locations are in the works in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.
But, in recent weeks, the pair have been paying attention to what’s happening at Denver’s Tikka & Grill.
Tikka, owned by Peter Sitaula, first opened in 2021 on South Broadway. The Indian and Nepali restaurant added a second location last year at 1120 E. 6th Ave.
Kunwar and Nyaupane said the latter location, less than a mile away from Gaia’s Cap Hill spot, is using a near copy of Gaia’s menu online, but with the Tikka name and logo.
The replication stands out in part because Gaia’s offerings go beyond the typical Indian restaurant.
Nyaupane specializes in traditional Indian food, while Kunwar trained in American cuisine after moving to the United States. After starting Gaia, the two — both natives of Nepal — decided to blend the cuisines in which they had experience.
As a result, in addition to classics such as tikka masala and naan, Gaia offers traditional and Indian-inspired versions of burgers, pizza and cheesesteaks, as well as chicken wings, fries and Mediterranean dishes such as falafel.
“Most Indian restaurants have similar menus, but we have our own creation,” Nyaupane said.
Kunwar and Nyaupane point to a website purportedly for Tikka’s 6th Avenue location. The design of it resembles Gaia’s website, and it features a PDF menu that is nearly identical to Gaia’s, from the inclusion of a “Buff Vegan Burger” to the red, blue and yellow color scheme.
The website, which calls the restaurant “Tikka Grill & Masala Burger” and has an online ordering button that doesn’t work, also includes food photos that are on Gaia’s website and displayed at Gaia’s Cap Hill location. Kunwar said his staff took the photos.
Confusingly, there’s another website for Tikka’s 6th Avenue location, which calls it “Tikka & Grill 2 (Masala Burger). There’s no PDF menu, but the “order online” button works, and brings diners to a page with an expansive menu that lists some of Gaia’s dishes, such as the jackfruit tikka masala cheesesteak and the beef gyro pizza.
Websites for Gaia Masala & Burger (top) and Tikka & Grill feature similar designs. (Screenshots)
When a BusinessDen reporter visited Tikka last week and got a takeout menu, it listed only traditional Indian and Nepali foods, and did not resemble the design of Gaia’s menu.
And Gaia isn’t the first restaurant to claim Tikka & Grill has stolen their menu. Kal Pant, owner of the Indian restaurant Spice Room, said the restaurant did the same to him in 2021 when it first opened.
“Food is food,” Pant said. “Chicken tikka masala, everybody’s got it. It’s not that you can’t sell chicken tikka masala. It’s the way I formatted the menu. Getting ideas is one thing, but don’t copy word for word.”
Sitaula, Tikka & Grill’s owner, declined to comment on the record for this story.
According to Gaia’s Kunwar and Nyaupane, this all started about six months ago, when Sitaula asked Nyaupane if he wanted to become business partners. Nyaupane said he declined, stating he wanted to focus on Gaia.
Then, about a month ago, Nyaupane claims, Tikka & Grill began attempting to convince Gaia employees to work for Tikka instead. According to Kunwar, only one employee, who was training as a chef, accepted the offer.
It was after that, Kunwar and Nyaupane said, that they noticed the menu duplications.
In early May, Gaia sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tikka & Grill. If Tikka did not stop using the “complete and exact copy” of Gaia’s menu, it said, the restaurant would be forced to take legal action.
“You are in violation of common law copyright,” the letter reads. “Your use of this menu constitutes unfair business practices, as well. You knew this would cause and is causing extreme emotional distress for the owners of Gaia Masala & Burger, as well as financial harm to them.”
The pair told BusinessDen they received no response to the letter. Kunwar said they’re seeking legal advice, and hope to file a lawsuit within a few weeks.
“They got the legal notice and they did not stop,” Kunwar said. “We have all the evidence. We took pictures, one of our employees went in person, he bought food and we have the receipt.”
In the meantime, Nyaupane said they’re also working on changing Gaia’s menu and adding new dishes.
The Spice Room’s Kal Pant took that approach back in 2021. Pant said he left one message at Tikka, asking to speak with Tikka ownership and that the restaurant stop copying his menu, but never heard back. After that, he thought it best to differentiate himself, change his menu and move on.
“If you poke the bear you’re going to get eaten,” Pant said. “I wanted to get out of their path so I changed my own.”
Pant said he completely changed the format and look of his menu, including dish names and descriptions. He also took down the online version of his menu.
“Legally you never know if you’re going to win, and the time, money, the headache involved,” Pant said.
