An Auckland restaurant operated by prominent restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat will close in May.
Tandoor-inspired eatery KOL opened on Ponsonby Rd in 2022 and will host its last dinner service on Mother's Day, 11 May.
"We've known for a couple of months that we weren't rating as well as we should have and the costs were piling up, we could see the concept wasn't viable," Chand Sahrawat told RNZ after revealing the closure on social media.
The decision to close was somewhat sudden - the couple were hoping to turn things around.
"A couple of weeks ago we actually made some changes, put in a new tandoor, and the idea was to keep going... But when you look at the last couple of months, it just wasn't stacking up," she said.
The site, a small corner spot opposite Western Park, has been home to countless short-lived restaurants over the years.
But Sahrawat denied the location was an issue.
"I really don't think the location has as much to do with it as the concept. When we first started KOL we were really busy for the first 8 to 10 months," she said.
"I think the right concept can work there, and that's what we believe in."
KOL's launch in 2022 followed an extensive, and expensive, refit including a new bar and kitchen.
For that reason, the Sahrawats have no intention of selling the property.
Instead, KOL will become an "incubator" for future talent with the couple inviting applications from prospective business partners to use the space for a new restaurant, bar or cafe.
"If we can help someone with a great idea come forward, try their idea, see its application in real life... We're happy to do that," Sahrawat said.
"It helps us as well, obviously we'd expect them to help with the rent... We would help them out with the space, set up, branding and there'd be mentorship from Sid and I."
After selling their first restaurant, Sidart (named Auckland's best in 2019), and closing their fourth, KOL, the Sahrawats are ready to downsize.
Photo: Supplied
"I think we're at the stage where we think two might be the sweet spot for us, and we'd rather mentor and help others in the industry," Sahrawat said.
"We originally had an angel investor in our first business and had it not been for his support we would not have taken that leap. We'd like to do that for someone else in the industry."
Applicants would be assessed by a panel of experts including restaurateur Al Brown, Cuisine magazine editor Kelli Brett and Restaurant Association head Marisa Bidois.
The couple have a stacked hospitality CV. They opened their first venture, European-influenced restaurant, Sidart, in Three Lamps on Ponsonby Rd in 2009 after Sid left his role at The Grove.
Then came Cassia in 2014 - a bustling modern Indian restaurant down a back alley in Central Auckland. The original site was ravaged by Auckland flood waters in 2023 and relocated to Sky City where it remains.
In 2018 the Sahrawats took over the sophisticated French Cafe from long-time owners Simon and Creghan Molloy-Wright. Alongside the Eden Terrace eatery sits Anise, a more casual eatery, with punchy flavours, which opened just over a year ago.
It was a date with Chand at The French Café in the early 2000s, that kicked off the couple's now iconic Auckland hospitality story.
"It was our first date, and that's where I decided to get into fine dining and started working in restaurants, developing my own style," Sid told RNZ in 2024.
He has suggested he's eager to expand Cassia overseas.
"I feel like it's something that could be quite cool in Singapore or Dubai to show a little bit of our style to another part of the world," he said.
KOL adds to the list of recent restaurant closures around the city. Most recently Monsoon Poon shuttered after 20 years. Late last year, acclaimed restaurant The Grove, once ranked one of the best fine dining establishments in the world, announced its impending closure, along with Peter Gordon's Homeland. K Road restaurant Madame George closed, Ponsonby restaurant SPQR went into liquidation, while Chapel Bar & Bistro, on the same road, went into receivership.
This article was first published by RNZ