Restaurateur Vikram Vij plans on May 24 to start selling prepared meals and sauces across Canada, he told Business in Vancouver.
He will then focus on moving his iconic Vij's restaurant from West 11th Avenue near Granville Street to a building he owns on Cambie Street near West 15th Avenue.
The 2,000-square-foot site of the current Vij restaurant will be adapted to a new concept that Vij would not reveal.
The future 3,200-square-foot Vij's location on Cambie Street will have capacity for 85 seats – 20 more than Vij currently has.
"I'm also planning to open a restaurant in The Shops at Morgan Crossing in Surrey," Vij said. "That should be operating by this time next year and have 100 seats."
Vij's forecasts, however, sometimes get delayed.
He first told BIV in October 2009 about his plans to move Vij's and expand sauce sales.
But a recent partnership with Unified Distribution has made expanding sauce distribution a reality.
Sauce and prepared meal sales currently make up about 40% of Vij's overall revenue. Sales from his main Vij's restaurant and neighbouring Rangoli generating 60% of his revenue.
Prepared food sales, however, are currently only in B.C., primarily though Whole Foods and Stong's Market locations.
Vij explained that some of the delay stems from difficulty in getting a 28,000-square-foot Surrey food manufacturing plant up and running.
He has made food at that facility since April 2011, he said.
"Unify will buy the food from us and then distribute first across Canada and then, hopefully, across the U.S. too," Vij said.
