Campaigners have taken to Buckingham Palace demanding King Charles save the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant.
Veeraswamy was founded in March 1926 and has remained at Victory House on Regent Street, London since it opened.
Restaurant co-owner Ranjit Mathrani pleaded with the King to save the nearly 100-year-old establishment “from extinction”.
More than 20,000 people have signed the petition, including celebrity chefs Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux.
The Crown Estate said removing the restaurant from its current home is “not a decision we’ve taken lightly”.
Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement the decision is a matter for the Crown Estate, which is an independent property company, with profits going to the Treasury.
The petition has described the restaurant as a “symbol of Indo-British cultural connections”.
Mr Mahrani told the BBC: “The Crown Estate are like a brick wall covered with polystyrene politeness.
The Crown Estate said removing the restaurant from its current home is ‘not a decision we’ve taken lightly’
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“We would like the King to persuade the Crown (Estate) to talk to us, be reasonable and have a discussion.”
He fears “100 years of history is being relegated to the dustbin” if the restaurant closes.
His wife and co-owner, Namita Panjabi, said: “Veeraswamy has catered twice at Buckingham Palace for the late queen. The first time was in 2009 when President of India visited, secondly in 2017 when India celebrated her 70th year of independence.
“It is astonishing that we are being asked to close after all of this. Along with Hamleys and Liberty, we are the oldest tenants on Regent Street.”
The owner said: ‘We would like the King to persuade the Crown (Estate) to talk to us, be reasonable and have a discussion’
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Sonia Cannavo, who has worked at the Indian restaurant for more than 20 years, said: “I’m very sad about the news, we are standing together and hopefully the Crown Estate will keep us open.
“We have been here for 100 years, and it’s been an honour to be a part of it.”
Veeraswamy’s dispute with the Crown Estate arose when the landlord revealed intentions to modernise the Grade II-listed building.
Planning documents show changes to the current entrance would make the restaurant inaccessible.
The restaurateur fears it could be ‘100 years of history is being relegated to the dustbin’
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A spokesman for The Crown Estate said: “We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House to both bring it up to modern standards, and into full use.
“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.”
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