Sault Ste. Marie’s first vegetarian restaurant remains open and has made a quiet but significant shift by introducing chicken and fish dishes Ojas restaurant moved into the former Muio’s building at 685 Queen St. E. this time last year. The words ‘plant-based’ were removed from the signage last week. 1 / 1 Ojas restaurant moved into the former Muio’s building at 685 Queen St. E. this time last year. The words ‘plant-based’ were removed from the signage last week. Advertisement Sault Ste. Marie's first meat-free restaurant quietly removed 'plant-based' from its exterior signage last week. "We did it the day before yesterday, and nobody noticed, to be honest," Ojas co-founder Surendra Kumar Bansal tells SooToday. As we first reported in February 2024, Bansal and partner Oyunbileg Chuluunbazar came to the Sault from Mongolia to start a meatless South Asian fusion restaurant in the former Muio’s location at 685 Queen St. East. After operating there for the past year, they haven't lost their enthusiasm for vegetarian and vegan cuisine, but are nonetheless preparing to add animal protein options to the Ojas menu. "We are still open, and we are changing our menu," says chef Bansal. "We are incorporating some meat proteins, including chicken and fish options. It will be a fusion menu. A majority of the items will be East Indian-inspired." The newcomers from Mongolia are no strangers to the hospitality business. They moved here from Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia with a population of 1.45 million. There, they continue to operate three meat-free restaurants in a country that consumes large quantities of animal protein. In November 2023, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, a branch of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, named their Namaste Ulaanbaatar restaurant one of the top six Indian culinary experiences in the world. Their eateries have fed the Dalai Lama and prime ministers of India and Bangladesh. They even have a Namaste restaurant ready-to-eat products manufacturing unit. Bansal and Chuluunbazar are now managing their Mongolian businesses from Sault Ste. Marie as they work here to build their Canadian beachhead. In January of this year, SooToday reported that the fine dining establishment had been listed for an asking price of $180,000. "We have decided to close the restaurant due to personal and business considerations," Bansal said then. He and Chuluunbazar planned to enventually return to Mongolia, but would continue to operate Ojas until a new owner is found. That intention hasn't changed, Bansal told SooToday on Saturday. The sale listing is being renewed this weekend with a new real estate broker from the Toronto area and the asking price is reduced to $95,000.