SMVS Swaminarayan Temple Proposes Four-Story Home on Central Avenue as Korai Kitchen Wins Praise for Bangladeshi Dawat
Jersey City's religious and culinary landscapes are both seeing significant additions this week. The SMVS Swaminarayan Temple, currently based on Hoboken Avenue, has filed plans with the city's Zoning Board to construct a modern four-story worship facility at 48 Central Avenue in the Journal Square area, requiring the demolition of existing residential structures on the site. A few blocks away, Korai Kitchen continues to draw diners and critics alike to its weekly Dawat dinner series, a three-hour BYOB experience rooted in the home-style Bangladeshi cooking of Dhaka that owner-chef Nur-E Gulshan Rahman has made her signature.
🪔 SMVS Temple Eyes Four-Story Central Avenue Facility
The SMVS Jersey City, a Cherry Hill-based religious organization, has brought a formal proposal to Jersey City's Zoning Board to construct a new Hindu temple at 48 Central Avenue, marking a pivotal step in the congregation's effort to establish a modern, purpose-built home in the Journal Square neighborhood. The organization currently operates the SMVS Shri Swaminarayan Temple at 415-423 Hoboken Avenue — just three blocks from the proposed site — but a mixed-use redevelopment proposal at that address, which surfaced in 2021, has not materialized, prompting the community to pursue a permanent alternative. The Central Avenue property currently comprises three structures: a three-story two-family dwelling facing Central Avenue, a two-story single-family home on St. Paul's Avenue, and an asphalt parking area. All three would be demolished to accommodate the new building. The project was designed by Randolph-based architect Aavart Patel, and the proposed structure would stand four stories tall at a height of 46 feet. The floor plan assigns specific uses to each level: the ground floor would contain a dining room, kitchen, grocery room, and storage areas; the second floor would house the Sabha — the congregation's central worship hall — along with office rooms and additional storage; and the third floor would be devoted to youth and community activities, including a Balika/Kishori activity room, two mukto rooms, a mukto kitchen, and two washer/dryer rooms. The site sits directly across from Jotham Wakeman School No. 6, placing the proposed temple within a well-established section of the Journal Square neighborhood. The Zoning Board is set to take up the application in the coming weeks. [3]
🍛 Korai Kitchen's Dawat Series Brings Bangladeshi Home Cooking to Jersey City
Korai Kitchen in Jersey City has earned significant recognition for its weekly Dawat dinner series, which Eater New York deputy editor Nadia Chaudhury reviewed in a piece published February 11, 2026. The restaurant is owned and operated by chef Nur-E Gulshan Rahman and her daughter Nur-E Farhana Rahman, and the dining concept is built around a simple but resonant idea: guests are not merely customers but people invited into a family's home. The word dawat is Bengali for invitation, and the experience is designed to honor that meaning fully. Guests who attend the weekly Dawat event pay $95 per person for a three-hour BYOB meal featuring halal, homestyle Bangladeshi food rooted in the cooking traditions of Dhaka. The menu is not fixed — Nur-E Gulshan determines what she wants to cook each week, giving the series its personal and ever-changing character. During Chaudhury's visit, Nur-E Farhana described the food directly: this is my mom's interpretation of Bangladeshi food, a statement that captures the familial authenticity at the heart of what Korai Kitchen offers. The weekly Dawat dinner is the restaurant's only dine-in service, lending it an event-like quality that sets it apart from conventional dining establishments. For those seeking Bangladeshi food outside the Dawat format, the restaurant also provides regular takeout and delivery service. Chaudhury's review included a photograph of the pulao served during the meal. The combination of cultural specificity, family-driven cooking, and a communal, intimate format has established Korai Kitchen as a distinctive presence in Jersey City's South Asian dining scene, offering something difficult to find elsewhere in the region. [4]
Sources: [3] Jersey Digs · [4] Eater New York