Parivar Spices & Food opened July 1 in the former Grandma's gift shop at 1275 Central Ave. The store features fresh vegetables, spices and foods from throughout India and a small cafe in the back that serves traditional Indian foods, desserts and drinks.

Parveen Dawoodi and her niece Shabana Sadruddin are the owners. Dawoodi's husband, Ali Amin Dawoodi, and other family members help.

It was her dream. She wanted to do an Indian grocery store in Albany with a small restaurant, Ali Amin Dawoodi said the Indian population in the region is growing by 500 or so a year, and the store also attracts Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other customers.

Five family members traveled to Hyderabad, India, for a seven-week cooking school. The name Parivar means extended family, which represents both the ownership and its effort to be a family friendly shop, Dawoodi said.

The store is open seven days a week; the cafe is closed Mondays.