Two weeks after opening for business, Ajay Khadka, the owner of the new Indian restaurant at 1668 Haight St., said that despite the location's rocky reputation, business at the new Om Indian Cuisine is booming. The location has formerly been home to a revolving door of Indian-inspired eatiers, including Tikka Fresh, Tikka Masala Pizza, Sarvi and Tikka Masala.

Khadka, who also successfully relaunched an Indian restaurant at 2271 Market St. last fall, was the first to acknowledge the challenge of an uphill battle for the restaurant's reputation. "I sometimes have a hard time telling people we actually have good food now," he told us. But so far, he said, signs are good for a positive, long-term enterprise.

He said the first hurdle was updating the decor and giving the space a thorough cleaning. The new decorations include a tapestry of Hindu gods, new carpets, and murals of the Indian countryside.

"I wanted people to look at them and feel like that's where the food is coming from," he said.

Khadka said that in researching the restaurant before taking ownership, he had eaten at the location's previous incarnations. "I did a lot of research—since it has a bad reputation, this is like a gamble for me. But I decided it's a good gamble."

"I knew the reasons" it had a bad reputation, he said: "The restaurant wasn't clean, there was no customer service, and the food was bad."

He said that in gearing up for the opening, he spent an entire week cleaning the restaurant from top to bottom.

"I myself eat here," Khadka said. "My staff eats here." He said he holds the restaurant (which, he said, has a health rating of 96 after its initial inspection) to a much more stringent level of cleanliness than the previous ownership, to the extent that he even plans to convert the format to open-kitchen. "I'm that confident about cleanliness and quality," he said.

Another divergence from the location's previous Indian restaurants is the smattering of Himalayan food Khadka now offers. "It's going really well," he said, but is still only on a trial basis.

Khadka, who was born in Nepal to restaurateur parents, went to college in computer science and worked in Silicon Valley as a data analyst and software engineer. After years in that world, he said, "I decided I wanted to do something I like," something more rewarding, more flexible and more social.

As to the restaurant's first couple of weeks—which he said have already turned a profit—Khadka said, "I'm so happy. And I'm positive that I'm going to stay here for a really long time."

The neighbors "are very supportive and welcoming," he said. "You don't really get that kind of neighborhood in other places."

He said that already, about 90 percent of their dinner customers are local, and the restaurant's delivery operation has increased to two drivers.

Thanks to tipster Owen L.