India-born entrepreneur keeps expanding in Warrensburg

By Gordon Woodworth, Chronicle News Editor

Entrepreneur Ash Anand said he is under contract to buy the Grist Mill restaurant and the adjacent barn on River Street in Warrensburg, adding to his growing Lotus Group of Companies.

“We have applied for a liquor license and will be closing [on the purchase] in less than two weeks,” Mr. Anand, 37, told The Chronicle.

“It will remain exactly the same, but we plan to add outdoor seating on the water and give the outside a facelift.”

Chef-owner Chris Lambeth, 46, passed away on August 4 after a years-long battle with cancer.

Born in the West Bengal region of India, Mr. Anand said he now employs close to 50 people in Warrensburg, 330 worldwide.

Mr. Anand began his now very diverse Lotus Group of companies in 2009. In six years, he said, Lotus can now “file your taxes, watch your kids, fix your car, feed you dinner, cut your dog’s hair, provide housing, heat your house and give you a ride to Glens Falls.”

The Grist Mill is situated across the road from Lotus Auto Xperts, Mr. Anand’s new automobile repair shop, and Small Tales, his newly opened day care center.

Mr. Anand said he owns 13 properties in and around Warrensburg, four in Florida, and manages another 19.

Banker, then T-Mobile & analytics

Mr. Anand said he earned his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management Studies, then moved to California and was a banker with Citibank, Bank of America and GE Finance, then worked for T-Mobile, where he said he met his wife Jaime, a Johnstown native.

They and their three children live in Warrensburg, where Mr. Anand is a member of the Warrensburg School Board. He said he’s chairing the budget committee.

He said he chose to live in Warrensburg because “it’s very important for my family, and for our children, to see what we do and how we conduct ourselves.”

Mr. Anand said his main business is Lotus Analytics, which he said helps small companies manage their businesses.

“We do HR and payroll, accounting and finance, inventory and IT management,” Mr. Anand said. “We do it all.

“We tell them how to do it better, and many times we end up doing it for them.”

He said one of Lotus Analytics’ major partners — “we don’t call them customers or clients, we call them partners” — in the U.S. is Connectivity Source, which operates more than 100 Sprint retail outlets.

A diabetes treatment; auto garage

Mr. Anand says that when he established Lotus Analytics, he figured, “If I’m going to tell others how to succeed, why don’t I do it myself?”

That’s when he started branching out.

The first affiliated company was Lotus Neutraceuticals which produces an herbal supplement called Herbetic, which Mr. Anand says “controls and cures diabetes.” He said it’s sold on nutrition websites, on Amazon.com and in Target and Walmart.

“We will apply for FDA approval in 2016,” he said. “It would change history for us if that happens.”

Then came Lotus Construction, which he said employs 14 people and builds new homes and does historic restorations, as well as property management.

Next was Lotus Auto Xperts (LAX), which Mr. Anand says is the only garage open on Saturdays in Warrensburg. {See correction below}

Day care center that transports kids

Small Tales Learning Center and Daycare opened on July 20. Mrs. Anand said 24 children are enrolled now, 37 will attend in September and they expect to be at full capacity (65 kids) by November.

“We offer transportation as well,” Mrs. Anand said. “We will pick your kids up at home or at school and drop them off, too.”

As for the newly approved Lotus Link bus service that will run between Thurman and Glens Falls, Mr. Anand said, “We are aiming for a smooth launch by Oct. 1. We’re designing bus stop signs and routes now.”

He said buses will run six times daily, priced at $4 one-way and $8 round-trip from Warrensburg to Glens Falls.

He said stops will include the Thurman and Warrensburg town halls, the Price Chopper in Warrensburg, the Warren County Municipal Center, the factory outlets off Exit 20, Walmart in Queensbury, SUNY Adirondack, Aviation Mall and Glens Falls Hospital.

‘Whatever Warrensburg needs’

“In Warrensburg,” says Mr. Anand, “I see a beautiful community with a lot of prospects and a lot of needs…I want to make sure Warrensburg has whatever it needs.

“Service is our key. If you hire the right people and provide good service, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Not everything we do is about money,” he said. Lotus awards $1,500 scholarships to six graduating Warrensburg seniors every year, and also sponsored the Warrensburg Tri-County Middle League softball team this summer.

Wood pellet plans in front of APA

Beyond Warrensburg, Mr. Anand aims to build a factory in Thurman that would produce 60 tons of wood pellets a day. It’s in front of the Adirondack Park Agency. He said he hopes to have operational next fall on 28 acres he owns on Mud Street.

He said he expects the wood pellet factory would employ 25 to 30 people to start.

“My idea is very simple,” Mr. Anand said. “A lot of people and a lot of municipalities spend money to get rid of brush and leaves and grass. We will take that waste and convert it into pellets.”

He said most U.S. manufacturers who make wood pellets export them overseas. He said he’ll keep the pellets here, and “sell it as a subsidized rate locally.”

Mr. Anand says he has never spent a dime on advertising. “Our entire growth is based on word of mouth. Our work speaks for itself. Three years ago we had 100 employees. We are adding about 100 people each year now.”

Some hires don’t last long, he acknowledged, but “the people who are still here are the people who know my expectations. I don’t micromanage. I think everyone goes home feeling a sense of accomplishment.

“Loyalty goes both ways. If you take care of them, they will take care of you.”

He describes himself as “very reactive. I’m impulsive, not impatient.”

His wife gave an example. “We started talking about the idea of a brewery in the barn at 1:30 this afternoon,” she said, “and three hours later he’s already got people looking into logos and branding and specifics on how we could go forward.”

Correction: Four other Warrensburg garages are open on Saturday

Ash Anand’s new automobile garage in Warrensburg is not the only garage open in town on Saturday. Mr. Anand said that it was in a story in last week’s Chronicle.

Earl Clear of Smith’s Garage in Warrensburg called to tell us he’s open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and other garages are open as well.

Krystal Chrysler Jeep Dodge is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Warren Ford is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

And Griffin’s Automotive is open from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

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