Staff at the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant have begged King Charles not to ‘erase history’ amid ‘heartbreaking’ plans by the Crown Estate to force its closure.
Veeraswamy has been a cornerstone of Regent Street’s food scene for a century.
It was opened in 1926 by Edward Palmer, a retired Anglo Indian army officer, and has served the likes of Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando.
The Michelin-starred eaterie has also catered for events at Buckingham Palace.
But as part of renovations of the restaurant’s building, Victory House, the Crown Estate – its landlord – has said Veeraswamy will no longer be able to operate and its lease not be renewed.
In an ongoing court case, restaurant owner Ranjit Mathrani has claimed his business is being unfairly treated and suggested the restaurant was being relegated to the ‘dustbin of history’.
The Crown Estate, who run the monarch’s property interests, reject his claims.
A petition with 20,000 signatures has been collected in favour of the restaurant, counting celebrity chefs Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux among supporters.
Metro visited the restaurant and spoke to the staff and customers backing the campaign to save Veeraswamy, which they consider an ‘icon of London’.
Martin, 73, has worked on the door of the restaurant greeting customers in his resplendent red uniform for nine years.
He said: ‘This is a wonderful place to work, and I’m so proud of this historic place. It would be heartbreaking to see this place shut – and for what? It’s greed taking over at the expense of history.
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‘Veeraswamy is part of the fabric of London. I don’t know if it were a restaurant run by Gordon Ramsay or another celebrity chef it would be treated the same way. But we do feel we have been badly treated.
‘This is more than a business and we are obviously sad at the prospect of having to close. Even if we moved to another unit, the history of this building cannot be replicated.’
Another staff member added: ‘We love this place, we are like a family. Generations of people have come to eat here. Regent Street won’t be the same without Veeraswamy.’
When Metro visited, customers were already filtering into Veeraswamy as soon as doors opened shortly after midday.
Vijay, 29, told us: ‘I’ve been here a few times. It’s the best Indian food in London.
‘When I come to the UK on business I always try to have a lunch here. It would be a sad day if it closed. It’s so respected and all about the food and service. There are no gimmicks.’
Mr Mathrani has written to the King to ask him to intervene. But Buckingham Palace has said the issue is a matter for Crown Estate officials.
A court case began on Thursday, with Guy Fetherstonhaugh KC representing Veeraswamy’s parent company, MW Eat, and claiming that the restaurant was being singled out.
He said: ‘The tenant’s surmise, there being no other reason of which is able to conceive is that the landlord simply does not wish for its hoped-for smart new offices to have an Indian restaurant in their midst, no matter how prestigious that restaurant may be.’
The case is being brought under the Landlord and Tenant Act.
However, the Crown Estate flatly rejects that the food served has any bearing on its plans for the building and that the works to the building are necessary.
A spokesperson said: ‘We strongly refute any suggestion that The Crown Estate prefers particular types of cuisine.
‘We are proud to have a diverse dining offer across our West End portfolio, reflecting the diversity of London itself.
‘This difficult decision has been taken in line with our responsibilities as stewards of this historic area, and alongside an offer to MW Eat to help them find new premises on our portfolio and to provide financial compensation.’
The Crown Estate said that because any profit it made went to the Treasury, it had a responsibility to ensure taxpayers money was being well managed.
The spokesperson added: ‘We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use.
‘We understand how disappointing this is for MW Eat and have offered help to find new premises on our portfolio so that the restaurant can stay in the West End as well as financial compensation.
‘The Crown Estate has a statutory responsibility to manage its land and property to create long term value for the UK and return its profit to the UK Government for public spending.
‘This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. With external advice, we have reviewed alternative proposals, including those put forward by MW Eat, and unfortunately there isn’t an alternate scheme which meets our responsibilities as stewards of this heritage listed building, our legal obligations and our responsibilities to manage public money.’