The tragic shutdown of Mumbai’s one of the most popular restaurants, Qualia is poignant for its patrons. This world-class European fine dining restaurant was helmed by Chef Rahul Akerkar. Situated at Lower Parel in Mumbai, Qualia had recently got a mention in the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2021. The restaurant was launched in April 2019 and was doing exceptionally well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country hard.
Coronavirus pandemic affected almost everyone but the tourism and hospitality industry were affected the most. The shutting down of various restaurants and eateries since then is an example of the same. The situation became worse during the second wave of the viral infection and it swept the restaurants. Qualia is one among those.
Its owner, Chef Rahul Akerkar recently informed everyone about his unfortunate decision to close his restaurant via the restaurant’s Instagram handle with the name qualiabombay. He wrote that the pandemic made it economically difficult to sustain the restaurant. Though he along with his team tried almost everything possible from salary cuts to starting door-to-door delivery and giving cooking classes to keep the restaurant open, nothing actually worked. According to the statement released by the Chef, Qualia is unable to pay its staff or the rent of the property, and therefore he is shutting down the business. He hopes to come back soon in the business with a new brand restaurant.
Here is the heartfelt Instagram post:
Restrictions owing to the pandemic, increasing debt, and losses have led to the closing of Qualia and many other such restaurants. It is the end of Chef Rahul’s Qualia dream that he saw after parting his ways with his partners at Indigo. For the unversed, he was known for his art of pickling. We wish for his comeback in the restaurant industry soon.