The American Dream may be hard to realize these days, but for some it’s a matter of determination, passion and perseverance. For Anil Sustawar, the key to the American Dream lies in spicy curries and tandoori chicken recipes from halfway across the world.

Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, Sustawar was the owner, main chef and delivery-man for his local restaurant Saveur India until it closed in early 2013. After struggling for several months to keep his dream alive, he finally opened his current restaurant, Bethesda Curry Kitchen, in March. Sustawar’s new restaurant is just a mile down the road from its predecessor, where he is working just as hard and bringing in even more customers.

When Sustawar moved to America in 1998 at age 30, he already had experience cooking in his home country and in the Caribbean. For four years he prepared dishes all over Bethesda, serving as the head chef for Bombay Dining and Passage to India before he and a fellow chef opened Saveur India in 2007.

“One of my friends always wanted to work with me and start a restaurant,” Sustawar said. “So he worked with me to open the place, and it was the learning experience in the first restaurant that pushed us forward.”

Once Saveur India opened, running it proved to be a difficult process. Acquiring cooking equipment and decor was expensive and in the early days business was sporadic, he said—it seemed like there was a tax for every piece of cooking equipment they needed.

In 2008, Sustawar’s first restaurant received praise from the Washington Post and within a couple years, they had developed a following of regular customers. Their tucked away location under the Trader Joe’s complex off Wisconsin Ave. was a hindrance, but it didn’t stop them from attracting business.

“Saveur India is easy to overlook, but this is a case of good things in small, hidden packages,” Washington Post staff writer Eve Zibart said.

Unfortunately, Sustawar’s landowners raised the rent price, which put the business in a corner and forced him to close shop.

“It was impossible to continue at that place,” Sustawar said. “Business went down almost 30 percent. The landowners let us go because it was not possible for us to continue.”

Almost two years later, Sustawar’s new operation is bringing in even more business with a bigger location and more authentic Indian dishes. His regular customers from his previous location supplied him with business early on and has kept him up and running since.

“The most regular customers are my main backbone,” he said. “It would not have been easy if I didn’t have my old customers coming.”

Bethesda Curry Kitchen is located on Cordell Ave., directly between Brickside Food & Drink and Flanagan’s Harp & Fiddle. But with a much bigger sign and front window display than his previous operation, more customers are stopping by.

“This place is right on the street so even unknown customers are seeing the menu and coming inside, but that never happened in the old spot,” Sustawar said. “Location is very important for business. Location. Location.”

Even with an improved location, Sustawar continues to feel the intense pressure of owning a restaurant in Bethesda. With so many Indian restaurants to choose from it’s difficult to make Bethesda Curry Kitchen stand out, he said

“The flavors are complicated, but they are very traditional,” Sustawar said. “This place is unique, but different from what most chefs do.”