56-year-old Alipore cafe shuts down, looks for new address
Times of India | 3 July 2024
Kolkata: The closure of a popular vegetarian eatery in Alipore that was established in 1968, and began serving 108 varieties of dosa eight years later, has evoked widespread reactions on social media with residents of this tony neighbourhood, staff and visitors to eight hospitals in the vicinity, regulars to the National Library, and students and professors of the Calcutta University’s Alipore campus expressing despair over the development.
Garden Cafe, which is considered the first vegetarian fast-food restaurant in the city, shut down on June 24 after the fuel station in which it is located was ordered to shut down by the court after it lost a protracted legal battle against eviction by the landlord.
Sandip Nowlakha, who had taken over the management of the joint shortly after it had been started by Woodlands Petrol Station, has been flooded by messages from well-wishers and patrons.
“Garden Cafe was so iconic and so popular. This is so sad,” wrote Earth Day Network regional director Karuna Singh. “Such a landmark you created. People forgot Woodlands and knew Garden Cafe,” messaged BFL Corp director Keshav Bangur.
Last year, the National Restaurant Association of India accorded Garden Cafe the legendary brand status. “You will come back with a bang in a better place with easier parking,” wrote Oasis restaurant owner Pratap Daryanani.
Overwhelmed by the support, Nowlakha is scouting for a new site in Alipore to re-establish the restaurant. “We have been catering to doctors and staff of six hospitals in a 1-km radius. Many of them want us to stay close by. I will be inspecting three places and hope to start the restaurant within a fortnight of finalizing it,” he said.
The brand has three franchisee outlets — on Lee Road, Vivekananda Park and EM Bypass (near Udita). But it is the Alipore outlet that was the most famous.
Garden Cafe used to serve around 500 customers daily, with dosa, dahi vada and pizza being the hot-sellers on its menu. During Covid, it had provided free meals to hospital staff, as well as security personnel employed in buildings in the neighbourhood.