Srider’s India Imports

So don’t let the mixed reviews fool you. Chalk it up to cultural differences. I am not Indian and while not completely clueless, far from any level of expertise in the world of saris. Both the owner, Devi, and her daughter, Rajji, were very helpful and delightful to talk with. I explained my situation, looking for unique yet tasteful evening attire for a formal event and they led my down a wonderful path to a gorgeous sari. Thank you ladies for all of your help. I will be back!

Wow I am in disbelief right now by the way I was treated at this store. We are doing an India unit in homeschool right now and my son is fascinated with Hinduism and India, so I walked into this store a few minutes ago fully prepared to spend some money on food and fabrics, etc. The woman working was super rude when I asked to go into the separated room that has all the fabrics and told me she couldn’t help me if I wasn’t planning on buying something. I told her I was hoping to buy some things, she rolled her eyes and walked over to open the door for me, shaking her head. I literally just wanted to buy things from this stupid store and that is how I was treated! I told her nevermind, I don’t want to be an inconvenience and she shrugged and walked away.
What a terrible representation of a beautiful culture. Jokes on me, I guess. Just drove 30 minutes to get here and I have to find a different store with Indian stuff…

Very bad experience. The store owner, some middle aged lady is very unprofessional & crazy. I called the store to check if they have Indian clothes and if they have a fitting room. She said yes.
Next day we went to buy clothes, she said she will only allow to try clothes IF we promise to buy them. Never heard that in USA before. Generally one tries clothes & if they like they will buy it. No pressure.
Crazy store…

I had a great experience getting a sari fitted at Srider’s! The owner Devi was extremely knowledgable, helpful, patient, and kind.
My boyfriend brought me back fabric for a sari after his trip to Varanasi. I didn’t know anything about saris, but he told me I needed to have a blouse made before I could wear it. The blouse was to be made from the extra fabric at the end of the sari, and I’d need a tailor to make one. The hard part then was finding a sari tailor in the US.
I found Srider’s on Unilocal and decided to give it a try. Though it had mixed reviews, it seemed like the negative experiences were due to communicative misunderstandings, probably owing to the differences in body language and tone of voice between Indian and American cultures. When I showed the owner Devi my sari, she looked it over carefully and determined that yes, her tailor could make me a blouse. Even though the tailor would do it independently and Devi wouldn’t make any money for it, she still agreed to send it to be made.* She helped me find a blouse in her store that fit me that we could give to the tailor as a template.
A week later, I saw the beautiful, deep green blouse the tailor had made for me. She even fashioned rainbow and gold trim on the ends of the sleeves in a very elegant design that perfectly matched the rest of the sari. I tried it on and Devi immediately noticed some areas that did not fit right. I, never having worn a sari before, didn’t know any better, but she insisted on tightening up the sleeves and neck area so it fit just right. I trusted her judgement, and the next day when I tried it on, it fit perfectly! She made these final adjustments herself, but didn’t charge extra for them.
She then proceeded to show me exactly how to wear the sari, which was thick and heavy, so we talked about ways to make it stay in place. Once it was pinned up just right, I turned around to the mirror and it looked amazing! Her expert help made my long strip of sari fabric into a gorgeous, wearable sari.
Lastly, she helped me get accessories to go with it – matching bangles (she has lots and lots of them) and sandals. Thanks so much, Devi! Thanks to you, I have a beautiful new Indian outfit that I will never forget.
*Note: I think the reason she let her tailor make me this blouse was because it was my first sari and I’m American, so I wasn’t going to be too picky about it. I believe she mentioned that when customers who have worn many a sari ask for a tailored blouse, they often are too critical of the work and want all sorts of fine adjustments, so it takes forever for the final piece to be done. So if you need your 30^th+ sari tailored, this might not be the best place for you to go.

I went to Srider’s looking for an appropriate sari for a wedding the following day. The owner assisted me personally. I was admittedly clueless and she was patient and informative. I cannot say enough about how helpful she was. If you are looking for Indian clothing, I would definitely recommend Srider’s.

WORST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE EVER. I will never go back and would never ever buy anything from this woman. She was incredibly rude the entire time I was in the store. I wanted to look at jewelry and she wouldn’t let me touch any of it unless I bought it. She said I would ruin them. She wanted to know WHY I was in there… and what I wanted. I guess you cannot just wander in there. I left without purchasing anything and advise everyone to not step foot into this store.
Horrible.

I had a great experience at this fine shop. The owner was helpful in sizing me for a kurta and picking out a nice material and color. She was understanding when I didn’t buy one today. And, I will be back whenever I need something that they sell. Hopefully soon!

Wonderful tasty spices and sweet lady will help find what you need and answer all questions. Fabulous store.

I’m a regular at Sriders and love it. They always have what I need, and the owner is always happy to see a white gal like me cooking up Indian dinner parties and such. They have great frozen mini Samosas, and jars of chutneys and pickles to dip them in. Makes for a great appetizer to bring to a party.

Strange vibe. I had a bizarre experience as well. The lady followed me around the store and asked me if I was taking pictures!

Very small, and very overpriced.
The store seems to be mostly clothes, and they decided to sell a few spices on the side. I came here looking for cumin seeds, and I found a tiny bag (probably about 4 oz) for $ 6! I thought maybe cumin is just more expensive in Oregon, but all of the other ingredients were at least 2x the price I normally pay. It was also a little awkward to be in the tiny store with the owner yelling at us from the back room. The whole experience was very disappointing, so I will have to continue my search for Indian grocery stores.

If you read the previous reviews they are all true.
The lady greets you with a sour smile, and it is downhill after that.
Her attitude stinks!
She sure has a lot of merchandise in the store, but makes it so difficult for you to see the items because she follows you around, and wants to know what you want, then proceeds to state that she doesn’t have it, even simple bangles.
She only backed off only when I asked her «is there a problem if a look?»
Prices are reasonably good, but I would rather take my business elsewhere, like the Bethany area, where they believe in ‘service with a genuine smile’.
Not worth going to a store where the owner is unfriendly and does not try to help you.
Only worth going there if you really have to.
An overall a bad experience.

I feel fortunate to have an Indian grocer nearby. There is a great selection here and I find something new I want to try every time I go.

Devyani is such a wonderful woman and her store has everything I could think of. I love how genuine she is. She was extremely helpful and all her merchandise is genuine imported.

Years ago Srider“s India Imports was like a novelty. However, as Indian influence increases in the Portland area stores like Sriders have taken on new relevance. Whether you’re looking for a sari or an ingredient for your Indian meal Srider’s India Imports is definitely worth checking out.
Srider’s India Imports is located in the Tigard Plaza. The store itself is divided into two rooms. The room on the right has clothing, jewelry, and incense on display. Absolutely fascinating! This room is almost like a museum. I was so fascinated looking at the saris and the Indian jewelry that I forgot to price the items.
The room on the left is like the main section of Srider’s India Imports. A friendly, smiling, and helpful woman staffs the cash register. Among the product line are things like teas, music, spices, cookware, some foods, and cold drinks. Srider’s prices are competitive with other India import stores.
The Tigard Plaza is an ancient shopping mall. This is 2011 and I’m pleased to say that Tigard Plaza is now home to stores representing Mexico, Lebanon, China, Vietnam, and India. Srider’s India Imports is a wonderful compliment to what has become a fun international shopping mall.

How many of us happen to have a fancy Bollywoodesque ensemble hanging around in our closet for a last minute Unilocaldog Millionaire event? I didn’t either. Enter: Srider India Imports.
One side of the store is Indian groceries/​spices, sundries and supplies. The other side is devoted to clothing and accessories from bangles to bindis! The proprietress, a petite, older Indian woman, is a total delight.
From the moment I walked in the door I was warmly welcomed. I felt really lucky to be the only one in the store. I had her all to myself. After I explained what I needed and what I wanted to spend, she went to work on me. She pulled many a gorgeous ensemble for me to choose from and ushered me to the tiny fitting room in the back. Turns out the first set she chose for me was the winner but it needed a little altering. No problem, she tells me as she pinned my garment up to fit me just right. She even made special arrangements to allow me to pick it up the same day… at no extra charge. Wow!
After determining what I was going to wear and how it was going to fit, we decided to accessorize. She has tons of fun and funky jewelry and stylish bindis. The wearing of a bindi can symbolize that a woman is married, or, it can just be worn as a fashion statement… good luck figuring out who is who fellas.
Even if you don’t need to shop for a fabulous event, you can still shop for some groceries and the store smells yummy. I left there wanting to gorge myself on an Indian dinner. She has various mixes for chicken and rice dishes, similar to stuff you find in Trader Joes. It is a fun little shop and if you are in the neighborhood is worth checking out.

We just moved to the area and this is the first Desi store in the area that we’ve visited. If I needed to describe this shop to someone, I would call it an Indian Dry Goods shop rather than a grocery store. They carry inexpensive packages of spices, both whole and ground, various types of dry dal, rice, and flour, as well as tea, soap, and cosmetics like hair oil. While you can get some refrigerated items like paneer and frozen paratha, the biggest disappointment is the lack of fresh vegetables or herbs available. None of the fresh curry leaves, tusli leaves, or hard-​to-​find desi veggies that are a big chunk of the reason for going to a desi store for me. I got my spices and the flour I needed, but I think I’ll try out other places before coming back.
One half the store seems to be devoted to Indian clothes, but I think you have to ask the lady if you want to go in and browse, so I didn’t bother.
So, bottom line, a good bargain for spices and other non-​perishables.

I went into this store yesterday after a very long time because I noticed that they are now selling Indian clothing. I have had a couple poor experiences at this store before with customer service so I have kept a safe distance. I walked in and was stared down by the lady working there, then followed and asked to committ to buying an outfit before she put any effort into showing me any of the outfits. She wanted me to tell her I was serious about buying something and not just wasting her time by browsing. I told her that I was not even sure what the clothing looked like so I couldn’t say for sure. I asked her if she was too busy to help me and offered to come back another time but her response was that she works alone so she is always busy. Oddly enough. I was the only one in the store at the time.
Needless to say… I am not impressed and will never step foot in this store again. I have no idea how people like this stay in business.

Sunday, 02 May 2010
Chana Masala — most Indian grocery stores carry numerous types of these MREs (meals ready-​to-​eat), just add meat or TVP and serve with rice.
Mirch Masala (Punjabi Mix) — not Indian techno but the Indian equivalent of Chex Mix but much more delicious and addictive. Many varieties but this one is my favorite.
Clay Oven Tandoori Naan — this variety is pre-​cooked, frozen but the store also carries the raw dough for you to make it yourself.
TVP — textured vegetable protein, basically ready-​to-​rehydrate-​tofu for those seeking a meat alternative.
Owner was extremely friendly, helpful, knowledgeable.
Store also specializes in saris, gifts, jewelry.