Campaigners trying to prevent the closure of the UK’s oldest surviving Indian restaurant will take a petition to Buckingham Palace, calling on King Charles III to intervene.
Veeraswamy, a restaurant founded in 1926 on its original location on London’s Regent Street, faces not having its lease renewed in a dispute with its landlord, the Crown Estate.
King Charles has previously claimed to be an advocate for building links between communities, so the restaurant’s supporters are calling for his backing to protect it as “a living piece of shared cultural history”.
But the Crown Estate says the building needs a refurbishment that’s not compatible with the restaurant remaining.
Veeraswamy’s battle to stay open, on a site where it kept serving food through the wartime Blitz, has been backed by a petition that’s gathered more than 18,000 signatures. High-profile chefs such as Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux and Richard Corrigan have added their voices to calls for a re-think on closing the Michelin-starred restaurant.
The petition calls on King Charles to back the campaign to “protect a historic institution” and save a “symbol of Indo-British cultural connections”, as the restaurant approaches its 100th birthday in March. It will be brought to the gates of Buckingham Palace by supporters and chefs.
https://www.change.org/p/help-save-veeraswamy-to-exist-in-its-99-year-old-location
Author: George Shaw
Former BBC journalist and founder and CEO of an award-winning London advertising and PR company for 20 years, providing restaurant consultancy services. Spent a decade as the director of communications of the Asian Catering Federation in the UK and lead judge for its various restaurant and chef awards programmes. Now returned to journalism, specialising in food and travel and currently the Editor-in-Chief for Taste London, Taste Asia, the Good Curry Guide and CEO of International Culinary Guides.