Star Foods opened its doors to the Indian and Pakistani community of the Chicago suburbs in 1981.  The late 70s/early 80s saw a growth of the Desi population across the U.S. and the Chicago area has always been a popular destination.  As these new immigrants arrived, their desire for good Indian food followed.  Sh. Ayodhia Salwan migrated to this area in October 1977 and his wife Smt. Prem Salwan and their children soon followed.  They deeply missed their homeland yet wanted to start a new life with their young family.  When talking with other fellow immigrants, they sensed a lack of our ethnic groceries in the suburbs.  Hailing from a farming family from Amritsar who were also involved in food distribution, it only made sense to continue the family tradition.

The original Star Foods was opened in a space that was 700 SF in Hanover Park, IL.  From that very first location, we began the mission of procuring the highest quality food staples for your family.  As our community grew, so did our business.  We strived to provide a variety of products that would satisfy the needs of our customers from all regions of the Indian subcontinent.

In 1984, we moved to a larger location in Hanover Park.  We expanded our line of groceries from basic staples to also Indian favorites like snacks and sweets.  From the beginning, we prepared fresh, homemade snacks and sweets.  In 1986, we expanded to wholesale under Salwan Trading, Inc. and began to distribute our groceries coast to coast across America.