In recent weeks, the staff at Haveli Banjara Indian Restaurant at 100 Second Ave. has been telling patrons that they will be closing sometime early next year... with the hopes of finding another location nearby.
The Maître d’ confirmed the closure/move to me during a recent dinner. (Haveli is asking customers for their email addresses so they can provide an update after hopefully securing a new space.) He said they'd likely close in January or February, and encouraged regulars to come back for another visit here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.
One source said that the previous landlord died. The building has been on the market since September. The asking price is $8.6 million. The restaurant, with the intentionally shattered windowpane (crackle glass?), will be delivered vacant, per the listing.
Haveli opened in 1987. Banjara moved in here in November 2013.
[Image via Facebook]
I always liked the restaurant's interior, which, according to its website, "is patterned after an Indian haveli, a residential mansion with a partially elevated second floor and an interior courtyard."
Haveli Retaurant’s uptairs suspended dining areas permit the patron to observe the entertainment below, wheather it’s dancing or the Indian cooking processes. The wooden gallery windows in these “hanging havelis” are jalis (screens), which allow the viewing enjoyment of reenacted Indian street activitie and decorations. The theatricality of Indian culture complements this country’s traditional food in an urban setting.
