Metta Meals brings new food and 'a dose of sunshine' to Floyd
Owner Rashminder Hargis said that in her mind, Metta Meals is “more than an individual effort or expression – it’s always been community centric.”
Located right along Main Street in town is something that Floyd has not had before: Metta Meals, a permanent food trailer that serves authentic Indian style street food, made with love by local Floyd resident Rashminder Hargis.
Metta Meals had a quiet launch this past April without a large ribbon cutting or call for overwhelming crowds as Metta Meals officially opened. Hargis was hesitant to accept any news coverage, she explained, because she wanted to get on solid ground first.
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Hargis said that her love of cooking started early. “I have been cooking since I was like eight, nine years old. I used to experiment by looking up recipes in magazines in the pre-Internet era. I cooked for my extended family with my mother's supervision,” she said, adding that she never did it for work, instead pursuing jobs in "design, creative writing, holistic healing," and working for nonprofits.
It was in 2020 that Hargis started the journey of sharing her culinary gifts with the public. “We started with a Certified Home Kitchen in Fincastle, which had a great start, but within two months the COVID lockdown forced us to close.”
Still, she knew that cooking for the masses was something that she was good at after participating in The Gauntlet 2020 Business Competition held by The Advancement Foundation in Roanoke. With the community support Hargis received through that accelerator, she focused her efforts on cooking community meals and offering cooking classes.
Hargis then went on and participated in the 2021 Floyd C4 Business Development Series where she won second place and $3,000. She said that since participating in the C4 program, the Floyd Economic Development Authority, and Community and Economic Development Director Lydeana Martin have provided her with "tremendous support."
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The next challenge in Hargis' journey was finding a location for Metta Meals. “After a few attempts, we finally got the Main Street location and that became our ground for the much-awaited launch," she explained. "Kelly Thomas has given us enormous support in terms of the location and taking care of utilities set up. She believed in our vision and effort, helped us at every step and made it possible to launch the food trailer. Without Kelly’s generous spirit Metta Meals would have never come to fruition.”
Hargis said that in her mind, Metta Meals is “more than an individual effort or expression – it’s always been community centric.”
Hargis noted that it was her mother-in-law who originally pointed her in the direction of Floyd because of the area's "beautiful blend, where people from a very diverse set of ideas, set of lifestyles, but they come together and they live in harmony, which is incredibly amazing to witness, and be a part of. So we just fell in love with it. I think this spirit of the land itself is so beautiful, with an amazing energy. I've never met more of a concentration of amazing people anywhere.”
Hargis said that while the Metta Meals' seating is outside, she would like to continue service throughout the winter months in a take-out only capacity. “My target is to get a good customer base built by the time that in winters, even though some people leave Floyd, we'll have enough that we can just keep going.”
Hargis stated that she is in love with the location. “It can't be any better than this being on Main Street. It is a little bit away from downtown, which I think is a plus for us because it's more quiet here. If people want to enjoy food, but not be part of a big crowd, they are welcome here.”
Hargis updates her Metta Meals Facebook page on what daily offerings are on their rotating menu. The entire menu is vegan and vegetarian food "because that's what we wanted to bring and fill a gap. And we are so happy to see all the people – even those who are not vegetarians or vegan – enjoying all the ethnic Indian and Asian variety. Providing delicious, wholesome, healthy food to the community” is what drives the Metta Meals menu.
Hargis said that she receives positive feed back from all who are frequenting her restaurant. “Every ethnic snack or meal that I have rolled out, it has received such a, you know, warm welcome and people keep coming back for them, which is wonderful, and that gives me great joy. Every customer and patron is bringing us more motivation and a sense of fulfillment. We are grateful every moment as we see this tiny sapling grow a little bigger with a dose of sunshine every day.”
Metta Meals' food trailer is located at 511 E. Main St. Open hours are from 11:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. (or until sold out) on Fridays through Tuesdays. For more information, or with questions, call (540) 312-5133 or email metta.meals.usa@gmail.com.
