Bengaluru’s most popular New Krishna Bhavan shuts shop on December 6 after nearly 70 years
Bengaluru’s most popular New Krishna Bhavan shuts shop on December 6 after nearly 70 years
New Krishna Bhavan nestled in Malleswaram Bengaluru was established in 1954 by Ramakrishna Prabhu.
After serving dishes like butter idli, green masala idli, masala dosa, and badam halwa for almost seven decades, one of Malleswaram’s landmark food joints, the New Krishna Bhavan, is ready to take its last order. The restaurant will permanently shut its doors on December 6.
The restaurant is at present being owned by his son
Sunil S. Prabhu. Like the ownership which has travelled across generations, the workers at the restaurant have also been around for just as long.
As per Prabhu, they have been in business for almost 70 years now, and want to venture into different paths. They love this place, but honestly, are a bit tired and exhausted. Their employees too, who have been serving for years, feel the same way. One of them is Ramamurthy, our 72-year-old cook who worked for 40 years.
Although, the management has not made a decision on what next, they said they were keeping their options open. As of now, they are helping their current staff members find jobs at other restaurants.
Situated on Sampige Road, New Krishna Bhavan maintained its popularity amidst the presence of other iconic South Indian restaurants like CTR and Janatha Hotel. The owner attributed the success to their menu which boasted of items common in every household like button idli with sambar, neer dosa, akki roti, ragi roti, and ragi mudde with saaru.
The restaurant also has a loyal customer base who always came back with more people to savour the delicacies.
According to staff members, Actor Rajkumar and his son Raghavendra Rajkumar, and politicians also frequented the restaurant.
As per K.Lakkanna, former Mayor of Bengaluru, he has been a loyal customer for 40 years. He is a regular visitor with family and friends to relish the pongal and bisi bele bath.
Bala Krishna, who resides in the U.S., visited Bengaluru after 15 years. “Before leaving Bengaluru, he was a regular and loved the button idli with sambar. His return was filled with nostalgic happiness, but he felt devastated when heard over the closure of the restaurant.
Subramani, the head cook went on to say that for many of the employees, the owners and co-workers were nothing less than family and he treated this restaurant like his home and arrived here at 5.30 a.m. every day to prepare food. After 33 years of service, he is saddened by this change.
Meanwhile, Prabhu expressed his gratitude to loyal customers and dedicated employees. He spent his entire day here, going home only for dinner and will miss those days once they shut shop.
News Edit K.V.Raman
