When listening to Leena and Vikas Tomar talk about their business, Seattle Samosa, you can feel their love for samosas the way you can taste it when you get to try them.
Hand-crafted in Washington state, when served samosas at Seattle Samosa’s, you’re served a smile. Whether you would like to have your samosas delivered, for pick-up, or as catering, Seattle Samosa offer these savory, fried, and incredibly versatile pastries individually, in packs, and as part of meals.
Leena and Vikas were inspired to turn their love for flavorful, crispy pockets into a business when serving their homemade creations to the community during the COVID pandemic. Over time, this success led them to create ‘Seattle Samosa,’ which now has a restaurant in Ravenna, Seattle, and a dedicated production facility that produces thousands of fresh samosas daily.
On a sunny day in Seattle, the Northwest Mountain MSDC had the honor of paying Seattle Samosa’s bright restaurant in Ravenna a visit to hear more from Leena and Vikas personally about their business’ journey. Read here what the two Seattle Samosa founders share about being a minority business owner in addition to the advice they have for fellow minority business owners:
(Leena) My name is Leena Tomar. I am the co-founder and owner of Seattle Sosa, LLC. (Vikas) I’m Vikas Tomar. I am also the co-founder and CEO of Seattle Samosa. Leena is also my better half.
What does your business do?
We feel that Samosas are anytime meal and could be enjoyed in the different forms, as is or combined with other dishes. So far, we have seen Samosas on the sidelines.
Our mission with Seattle Samosa is to bring this, I would say, an under-appreciated meal to everyone and let everybody enjoy it the way we enjoyed it while we were growing up.
What motivated you to create this business?
While the idea of something like this was brewing for many years, it was the pandemic time when it took a real shape. During that time the situation around the world was grim and we wanted to bring some kind of smile, something to make people happy. For us it was Samosas – it just brings the smile whenever we eat and share it. We started out by making and sharing them over the weekends for friends, families, and neighbors.
While we were getting good feedback and appreciation all around, one day, one of our friends had great feedback and advice for us to think doing it professionally. And then we were like: ‘Okay, we probably are on to something. Let’s make it a business.’ And that’s how our journey started.
Seattle Samosa’s mission is and will remain, to spread happiness and bring a smile to everyone. Now, we happen to do it with the samosas, but that’s not what we are limited to – whether it’s our customers or employees or friends, anybody; we do everything in our capacity to bring a smile on their face. So that’s what we do.
With the love and appreciation shared by all our customers, it quickly grew into a five-day operation. Then we started doing some farmer’s markets, events, shows, and so on. We constantly got good feedback on our products and services. Then in 2022, we started supplying our samosas to different restaurants, PCC, cafes and so on.
In 2023, we engaged with one of the big foodservice groups for their catering needs. Now we are working with them as a certified food provider across the Pacific Northwest. Everybody was encouraging us to open our brick-and-mortar store. In 2024, we built the courage to do that, and this store is the result of it.
What do you love about your business?
I think providing good food and great customer service and the customer then comes back and tells us: ‘Oh, this was wonderful. It reminds me of my childhood.’ or anything like that which brings the smile. It just speaks to our heart. Additionally, the learning process has been great. With no background in food business, we can now see the other side of the picture. We have been customers, but we didn’t know what goes behind the door. We are so much more appreciative of the hard work done by all food professionals.
I would say, you know, it is a journey of learning and it’s a journey of smiles. The most valuable thing for us is when a customer comes and enjoys a samosa and when it brings the smile to their face (even for a few seconds), we feel our mission is accomplished.
It is important to us to share our culture via food. Being in this country for about twenty years, we have seen quite a bit, and we do appreciate this opportunity of being able to do business over here. The experience of opening a new business, as a minority, I feel like it was very supportive, especially in the city of Seattle and state of Washington. It has been great, and we have been associated with groups like yours and it has been a big support. I would say, most of the growth required hard work but the process was relatively easier than expected.
What are some challenges you had to face with your business?
I would say from a challenge perspective number one is not having the food background. So, the amount of learning and the mistakes that we made during our journey were real. And I don’t think we ever stop learning and making mistakes, that how we believe we grow and get better every day. Probably having a mentor would have really, really helped us in this area.
The other challenges are related to going through the permitting, licensing – that’s that has been a continuous challenge because we don’t know at any point in time what other thing that we don’t know we’ll run into. So that that has been a challenge. And then, of course, you know, as a minority, funding has been a challenge all along. I wish there was an easier way to get the funding for a business like ours.
In what ways has the NWMMSDC supported you?
The NWMMSDC has not only provided us the MBE certification which helps us become a preferred vendor for many corporations but has connected us to many potential opportunities like Port of Seattle Authority, T-Mobile, and so on.
We do everything from our perspective to make sure that it is as authentic as possible. We are committed to not use any preservatives or additives in our products and that we have been able to do since we started. We procure most of our ingredients from the local businesses and farmers.
In addition, what we are also opening our store up for other small minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, to showcase their products here and, you know, just have a starting point – which we wish we had.
What advice would you give other minority business owners?
If you believe in it, go for it. The journey is not easy. It needs persistence, perseverance, but with all the support that we have we can get done. Believe in your product and do the best from your side. Whatever you are doing a product or a service to the best of your ability, and number two, do not lose hope. It is important to persist and keep the perseverance there.
And finally, there is a lot of help available. All you have to do is, ask. We believe that whenever we have asked, we have received the help. So do not be afraid of asking; I always say that I am learning and not shy of asking for help. If I can get that help, I’m sure everybody else can get the help.
How can People reach out to you for corporate catering?
For corporate catering, Seattle Samosa has two options where people can order from. It allows teams/organizations to pick and choose the flavors and quantities to meet their small to medium size gatherings (like team meetings, all hands get togethers, parties etc.)
Customers can also learn more about Seattle Samosa and their products at:
Website: https://www.seattlesamosa.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seattlesamosa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeattleSamosa/
Or simply walk into their restaurant at 2122 NE 65th St, Seattle, 98115.
To inquire about B2B or wholesale offerings, please reach out to order@seattlesamosa.com or info@seattlesamosa.com
For women- and minority-owned businesses wanting to showcase their products in-store, reach out to Leena at leena@seattlesamosa.com or their store manager, Sampa sampa@seattlesamosa.com .
Thank you, Leena and Vikas, for sharing your and Seattle Samosas’ stories with us!
About the NWMMSDC
The Northwest Mountain MSDC, an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering minority-owned businesses by certifying, developing, and connecting Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with major corporations and public agencies.
Since 1978, the Council has been a driving force for advancing supplier programs and creating opportunities that enable minority-owned businesses to thrive. Serving the Pacific Northwest Mountain region – encompassing Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming – the NWMMSDC is committed to fostering meaningful business partnerships and driving economic growth.
For more information about the NWMMSDC and its programs, visit www.nwmmsdc.org.
To learn more about how certifying your minority-owned business can benefit you, click here.
If you would like to certify your minority-owned business as well, click here.