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What’s the secret ingredient for a successful food business? The answer comes in as many flavors as there are restaurants, food trucks and homegrown food products in the Asheville area: Stick to what you’re good at; put together a great team; know the basics of running a business; adapt to the conditions around you.

If you listen to AVL Food Fans, you might recall that Chef Joe and I have talked about a trend — a very small trend — towards a no-tipping system in restaurants. Now there’s a restaurant right here in Asheville that’s going for it. The folks at Blue Dream Curry House announced recently that they are switching from a tipping to a no-tipping system at their relatively new venue, located right downtown on Patton Ave. I was curious, and I figured that you guys probably are too, so I wrote to Blue Dream, and the three co-owners, Chris Cunningham, James Sutherland and Sean Park got back to me right away.

Nothing gets Ashevillians quite so excited as the prospect of new curry. It appeals to our love of diverse food and also promises to please, if executed correctly, both the vegetarians and meat-eaters in our fair city.

As the new Blue Dream Curry House comes together on Patton Avenue, one wall stands complete in the soon-to-be dining room.

Paprika-colored walls, dark wooden tables and glowing jeweled pendant lamps will greet diners who enter the soon-to-open Blue Dream Curry House at 81 Patton Ave. Funky, soulful music will lend itself to creating the vibe of a late-60s British curry house, which co-owner Chris Cunningham describes as not quite polished, yet filled with a feeling of history and nostalgia.

Tipping at restaurants is a practice so deeply ingrained in our culture, that it’s hard to imagine enjoying a meal out without calculating that 20 percent. But the times might be a’ changing in Asheville.