by Kelly Cornelius

April 16, 2025

Alok Kumar Aske, owner of Taj Aiken, a tenant in one of the city-owned Pascalis properties went on the record at Monday night’s City Council meeting and asked city officials to give him the 5-year lease he has been promised.(1) Doing so was not easy for such a soft spoken and gentle soul but he explained he signed the lease they gave him in Feb of 2024 but has yet to get it back from them and he checks in with city officials once a month.

As he reached out for help those city officials sat mostly mum with the exception of Councilwoman Diggs who has witnessed this man’s generosity for herself. Aiken citizen Jacob Ellis, who has been active in preserving the history of Aiken’s downtown, spoke in glowing support of Taj calling it “An Aiken Institution” and Kumar “A pillar of this community”.

Taj Aiken is truly one of downtown Aiken’s crown jewels. The Indian cuisine restaurant sits amidst the “Pascalis Block” — the group of Parkway District properties that Aiken officials purchased in 2021. under the guise of addressing “blight”.  The $9.6M taxpayer-funded boondoggle was part of the City’s vision to demolish the very cornerstone of historic downtown and erect in its place a modern chain hotel, a parking garage and conference center. Public outrage stopped Project Pascalis, however Taj and owner Kumar have since been held in limbo, first in the crosshairs of city official’s wrecking ball — under the threat of demolition for nearly two years and now as the property is listed for sale.

In the aftermath of Pascalis there was the lab project, and when the SRNL announcement was made on January 23, 2023, Councilman Ed Woltz stated that the “the plan is to preserve the existing businesses on the block…the Taj Restaurant would remain on Richland Avenue.” That was a promise made but forgotten when the lab building was put on Newberry St.

Kumar broke his silence at Monday night’s city council meeting and asked that city officials grant him the lease he was given over a year ago and that he has signed but the city hasn’t. He also asked for the opportunity to purchase the property that houses his restaurant, an opportunity which one other Pascalis tenant has been granted.

The American Dream

Kumar Akse is the very poster child for the American Dream. Originally from India, he arrived in this country in 2009 after having to drop out of medical school, which he was attending in Russia. A family emergency required the family’s financial resources to go toward medical care of a family member, so medical school for Akse was over. It was only through great sacrifice that he was able to make the move to America.

Akse arrived in the United States in 2009 to Augusta where he worked as a waiter until 2017 when he got the opportunity to open Taj on the ground floor of the Hotel Aiken. The restaurant became an instant favorite with the Aiken community and, within months, enjoyed dozens of 5-star reviews from locals and tourists on online review sites. Going into its eighth year in 2025, the 5-star accolades for Taj Aiken only continue, with many patrons express their delight and surprise to find such an artistry of spices and authenticity of Indian cuisine right here in the heart of downtown Aiken.

This isn’t to say that path from 2017 to 2025 has been easy. Shortly after opening in the Hotel Aiken, Akse had to move his business several doors east, to its current location at 213 Richland Avenue, where he had to do many of the renovations himself before reopening the business. It took nearly a year of work before Taj could open the doors. The business is thriving, the food is fantastic, and his customer base is loyal. Akse returns that love to his community in many ways, including mentoring his staff of twelve. “This job is only temporary” he preaches to them, “in this country you can make whatever you want of yourself with hard work”. 

Akse does not does not take this country nor its opportunities for granted. He works hard and he is grateful. One encounter with this man and you see he is kind above all else. Akse believes in karma, and he believes in giving back to his community. 

Hurricane Helene

Kumar fed this community day after day free of charge in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene which left downtown and most of Aiken without power and nearly unrecognizable.

A petition online to give Kumar a key to the city has taken off since he spoke publicly with over 670 signatures at the time of this publishing. The petition page is filled with glowing comments about the man and the food.

To illustrate another example of his generosity and community spirit, Christmas Day, 2023 Taj Aiken posted a holiday greeting and an announcement on their Facebook wall: 

“Taj Aiken takes pride in acknowledging our forever supporting patrons and jolly little town. Your presence is requested by Taj Aiken on Tuesday, December 26th. We are offering free boxed lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We sigh you all a Happy Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!”

On the afternoon of December 26, and in a drizzly rain, Akse and his staff gifted the Aiken community with a generosity of good cheer and over 475 boxed lunches to people from all walks of life. 

It’s past time the City of Aiken gives back to a man who gives so much to this community. Specifically, Taj Aiken should have the same opportunity available to some of the other Pascalis businesses to negotiate a contract with the right to purchase; or to provide an extended lease.

City officials gave Newberry Hall the right to purchase their property and they have given other tenants including Vampire Penguin and Ginger Bee 5-year leases but Taj Aiken has not been given that opportunity…. yet.

The City of Aiken has held the fate of Taj Aiken for long enough. Give this small business owner a fair contract and a fair price to purchase the property that taxpayers now own. With new leadership in the Mayor’s office — a shift in leadership that was largely due to backlash from the failed Project Pascalis — the City of Aiken has an opportunity to start to restore more than just the Hotel Aiken. They can start to restore public trust by supporting an independent small business beloved by many.

Footnotes:

1. April 14th, 2025 Aiken City Council meeting youtube. Kumar Aske’s speech begins at the 39:30 mark.

Good evening Aiken City Council.

My name is Alok Kumar Akse.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you.

I am the owner of Taj Aiken restaurant at 211 Richland Avenue West. I am here to ask that you consider granting our business a 5-year lease.

Taj Restaurant serves authentic Indian Cuisine. I employ twelve workers. We have hundreds of regular customers. We are a profitable, successful business since 2017.

We learned in November 2021 that the City was buying our property and was going to demolish our building and force us to move elsewhere. Since December of 2021 the City of Aiken has been our landlord, just like Vampire Penguin and Warneke’s.

Just like other businesses, we had no peace of mind after Project Pascalis began.

Mr Tim O’Briant offered us assistance to relocate. The assistance was not enough for us to move. We could not find another suitable space for a restaurant downtown. . Still, I signed the relocation agreement and waited to see what would happen.

But then Project Pascalis was cancelled. I thought maybe I could buy my building from the city or sign a long term lease.

Then the Savannah River Laboratory project came and the City wanted to build around us. Mr. Woltz said that Taj Aiken would stay open. Dr Majidi told me he wanted us to stay in our building.

We were very hopeful. We invested more in our business.

Then we were told the laboratory needed some of our space. Mr Tim and Mayor Osbon said the City would move us next door to the Playoffs building at the city’s expense.

But then the city decided to build the lab on Newberry Street, not next to our restaurant.

Then Vampire Penguin and Ginger Bee were given five year leases one year ago and gained some peace of mind and I became more hopeful.

I too sought a five-year lease and was told by Mr. Bedenbaugh that if I signed one like Jeannette and Brook’s then he would seek approval from you. I signed the lease in February 2024 that he provided and delivered to his office. I was told to check back.

I checked back in April, in June, July, and September last year, and then in January this year.

Now my building is part of another big project and our future is still uncertain.

We wanted the opportunity to buy our building and stay where we are, like Newberry Hall did. But if that is not possible we want a long-term lease that we were promised was possible. We want the same opportunities Aiken is giving other businesses. We are happy where we are. Our customers are happy where we are.

Thank you again for this opportunity to speak to you.