Catering to Clientele

Yasmeen’s Indian Cuisine has tantalized the taste buds of restaurant-goers with its traditional, spicy dishes since 1990. Attracted by the food and the setting, customers regularly line up for tables.

The only problem--if steady clientele can be called a problem--is that although the restaurant was in Oxnard, most of its patrons were residents of Ventura.

But now, in what could be the ultimate act of catering to one’s customers, Yasmeen’s owners Ishrat Ali and his wife, Sylvia Ali, have packed up their belongings and moved their restaurant to Ventura.

“Our customers were coming 70%-75% from Ventura,” said Ishrat Ali, who opened his relocated establishment earlier this month. “We have had overwhelming response [from regulars] and we are attracting a few new people, those who had never been to our other location.”

Yasmeen’s can now be found at 2367 E. Main St., where it occupies the site of previous residents Mariann’s Italian Villa and the Basque establishment Sheepherders on Main. Though Sheepherders lasted only about a year at the spot, Ali said he is unfazed by the revolving door the location has been.

“We were not concerned how many restaurants failed,” he said. “We have our established customers in Ventura city and Ventura County and our food has been consistently good for the last eight years. We have the same menu and the same staff.”

The biggest difference at the Ventura location is the new restaurant’s size--about four times larger than the old Yasmeen’s. The additional space, Ali said, has allowed him to make the restaurant available for banquets for the first time.

“My emphasis will be office meetings and small occasions,” Ali said. Additional seating, he said, also should alleviate long waits to be seated.

Other changes that regulars may notice at the new Yasmeen’s is an expanded and less expensive lunch buffet. The selection has increased by about 50%, Ali said, while the price has dropped from $7.45 to $6.95.

The restaurant is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is served from 5 to 10 p.m. daily.

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With the temperature rising, Memorial Day approaching and summer just around the corner, thoughts turn to briquettes, beef, hickory and other things barbecue. And with thoughts in barbecue mode, it’s natural to want to check on Jim Lyons, Ventura County’s self-proclaimed Capt. Barbeque.

In the past we’ve found the captain teaching “que” courses at Learning Tree University in Thousand Oaks. We’ve spotted him at the Taste of Ventura Food and Wine Festival. And most recently we’ve seen him cooking up his specialty at the Kansas City Bar-B-Q establishment at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

Lyons left the harbor location late last year, and since then has been concentrating on his catering operation and a line of Capt. Barbeque spices and sauces, which he plans to sell over the Internet.

If you’d like to sample his work, he’ll begin barbecuing this Sunday and then every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the 101 Drive-In theater, 4826 Telephone Road, Ventura. His two sizes of tri-tip sandwiches will sell for $3 and $4.