An Indonesian Grocery Store in Queens Turns Into One of NYC’s Smallest Restaurants Once a Week

Great Big Story visited with Dewi Tjahjadi, the proud proprietor of Warung Selasa (Indo Java), an Indonesian grocery store in Elmhurst, Queens that turns into one of New York City’s tiniest restaurants every Tuesday. The very amiable Tjahjadi explained that she and her family opened the store in order to provide people with Indonesian groceries that are difficult to find in the United States and to build a Indonesian community in Queens. This sense of community also inspired her to prepare and traditional dishes that she learned from her mother once a week on Tuesdays.

Before there was no Indonesian store. It was difficult to find the ingredients from Indonesia and we miss the community. If we have a store, the Indonesian people will come here and then we still can talk in the Indonesian language. That’s our our dream.