Rupa (left) with Kanak Vyas, long-time employee of Jay Store, and Madri (Rupa’s sister) at Jay Store.
Houston: Rupa Vyas, the founder of Jay Store, Houston’s first Indian grocery store, died on January 16, 2021 after developing Covid-19 infection. She was 82 years old. Born in Bhavnagar, India, and the eldest daughter of the Balakrishna Trivedi and Shanta Trivedi. After completing her studies in India, she and her husband, Mahesh Vyas, and their two young children- Jatin and Sanjay moved to Houston in 1969 from Montreal Canada as Mahesh landed his first job in geophysics in a local company.
Back then, there were only 30-40 Indian families in Houston and easy method to stay connected with other Indian communities. Soon, their desire to have Indian food as one meaningful way to connect back to their culture led mom to get groceries shipped from Chicago to their house. One-by-one other families asked if they could place an order with her. Soon, she kept a small inventory in her garage for the other families.