Meeru Dhalwala, who owns Vij's restaurant and Rangoli with Vikram Vij, is closing her Seattle restaurant, Shanik.

Dhalwala opened Shanik in December 2012 with her business partner, Oguz Istif. In an email announcement today, she wrote that they are closing the restaurant as of March 22, 2015.

"We enjoyed every bit of it, but despite very busy Friday and Saturdays, our weeknights were too slow in this South Lake Union location," she wrote.

Last March, when Dhalwala and Vij were featured in the 2014 Golden Plate Awards, Dhalwala told the Straight that she learned quickly that what works in Vancouver doesn't necessarily work in Seattle. Shanik launched with a no-reservations policy, for example, but then shifted gears to accept them. Shanik also catered to the Seattle market by offering more vegetarian dishes than Vij’s, as well as a happy hour.

Dhalwala also spoke of the inevitable comparisons between Shanik and Vij's restaurant.

Today, Dhalwala wrote that she plans to bring her Shanik recipes to Vij's, focus on the July opening of Vij's on Cambie, and finish her third cookbook.

For more on Shanik's closure, see this Seattle Met interview with Dhalwala.