Cape Breton’s ‘Butter Chicken Lady’ building a reputation for small business

Cape Breton’s butter chicken lady Ten years after settling in Sydney, Indian-Canadian Sireesha Keesara serves up the flavours of home.

It's not a big kitchen space, but there's an old saying about good things that come in small packages.

When you walk into the tiny room inside the Eltuek Arts Centre in Sydney, N.S., you will see where Sireesha Keesara works her magic.

Keesara has lived in Cape Breton for 10 years, and her small business venture S & S Indian Food has filled a need for international students at Cape Breton University.

"To serve quality food at low prices to the students, who are suffering - who are missing their mom's food, their home,” explained Keesara.

Her recipes from home have been a hit with locals, too. She's selling her food through Skip The Dishes, Door Dash, CB Eats & the Pan-Cape Breton Food Hub, the Cape Breton Farmer's Market and a Sydney convenience store. Combined with her daily takeout service at The Convent, business is booming.

Keesara's husband and one of her best friends help her each day with everything from kitchen duties to takeout orders and bookkeeping.

They add that her signature dish has become so popular that’s she's been coined with a nickname ‘Cape Breton's Butter Chicken Lady.'

"She has established her own brand of butter chicken, which is really selling good. People love her food. So yeah, it's quite amazing," said Madhuri Cimirala, Keesara’s friend and business partner.

Keesara and her husband have bought a home in the Sydney area, and with two of their children are currently in school they don't plan on leaving the area anytime soon.

"We moved to Cape Breton. Now, we call it as a home because we love it so much,” she said. "What we believe is we provide the quality food, and they will come to you. That's our secret."