The India Club to close after more than 70 years of trading
The India Club on the Strand, which was founded by the India League over 70 years ago, has announced it will permanently close on 17 September.
The restaurant was started in 1951 by India's first high commissioner to the UK, Krishna Menon, who was involved in furthering relations between India and Britian in the post-independence era. Lady Mountbatten and Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru were also among its founding members.
143 Strand, where the India Club is located, provided a space for the Indian Journalist Association, Indian Workers Association, the Indian Socialist Group of Britain and other community organisations to meet and exchange ideas.
Three generations of the Marker family have run the India Club for the last 25 years. It is now run by proprietor Yadgar Marker and his daughter, general manager Phiroza Marker.
The family told the Telegraph India: "It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the closure of the India Club, with our last day open to the public on September 17.
Phiroza added: "We have run the place for 26 years. I have been helping here since the age of 10. This is heartbreaking."
The announcement of the closure comes after a long-running battle to keep the restaurant open.
In 2017, the restaurant launched a petition after it discovered that plans had been submitted to Westminster City Council by its freeholder Marston Properties to replace the India Club with a hotel. The plans were rejected by the council in 2018.
In April 2021, the India Club raised £50,000 through a crowdfunding campaign after it was given an eviction notice from Marston Properties that January.
The restaurant said all money raised would go towards funding a legal fight against the decision.
A spokesperson from Marstons Properties said in early 2021: "We have owned an interest in the building since 1981 and originally purchased it with the intention of running the hotel one day. For some time, we have been concerned about the viability and condition of the building. Many options have been explored over the last few years to resolve these issues including seeking planning permission for two different redevelopment schemes."