It’s the end of an era as one of Vancouver’s longest-running Indian restaurants, along with several other neighbouring independent businesses, is facing eviction.

Rachhpal Gupta opened India Gate in the downtown core on February 1, 1978, at 616 Robson Street, specializing in northern Indian cuisine. His son, Gurmeet Gupta, took ownership in 2011, although his father still works at the restaurant.

By phone, Gurmeet Gupta told the Georgia Straight that the dining room, which spans 2,300 square feet and seats up to 86 patrons, has remained relatively the same during its lengthy run at the venue, although they did renovate the interior in 2011.

Gupta said that over the years, the menu, which draws upon family recipes, has also remained relatively the same, with its focus on traditional Punjabi cuisine.

The menu spans a range of dishes from biryani (mixed rice plates) and paneer dishes to tandoori and seafood curry. Among their most popular dishes, Gupta said, have been butter chicken (murg makhani), korma, and lamb dishes.

Of the latter, Gupta said he noticed that lamb has “really taken off” over the past 12 to 15 years, which he chalks up to shifts in diversity in the population, including more people from countries where lamb is more commonly eaten.

In addition, he has also observed a heightened demand for vegetarian food over the past five years.

As traditional as they may have been, the restaurant embraced technological change, even becoming Vancouver’s first restaurant to accept Bitcoin, starting in May 2013.

Unfortunately, Gupta said that about a year ago, they received their eviction notice for July 31.

A 13-storey building is proposed for the 600 block of Robson Street, extending from Seymour Street to the alleyway prior to Granville Street. A development application was submitted on December 18, 2018, and has been scheduled for the city’s development permit board on April 29.

The development will affect several other independent and long-running businesses on the block, including Time Frame Gallery (600 Robson Street), which opened in 1977; Red Burrito (606 Robson Street); Simon’s Bike Shop (608 Robson Street), which opened in 1986; and City Cannabis Co. (610 Robson Street), which began as Vancity Weed.  

Gupta said that they are looking for a new location but nothing is certain so far.

However, they do have two locations in Mexico: a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, which has operated for eight years, and a food truck in Guadalajara, which launched in 2015.

“We’d like to thank everybody in the community for their support over the last 41 years and for letting us be a big part of the community,” Gupta said.