Walnut Grille, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant located at 1203 Walnut Street in Newton Highlands, conducted its last day of business last Friday and will reopen in a few weeks under a new name, Shiva’s Kitchen, serving Indian cuisine. The exact date is yet to be determined.
The Board of License Commissioners approved the name change on March 21, as requested by the owner, Siva Kumar.
For a decade, Walnut Grille provided Newton with award-winning delicious food. It also gained a following of vegetarians and vegans in the greater Boston area. In addition, Walnut Grille maintained high standards for freshness, sourcing ingredients from Dover Farms and other local farms. Unfortunately, as with many restaurants in the industry, the business struggled to keep positive momentum throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. In a phone interview with Fig City News on closing day Saturday April 1st, 2023, Siva Kumar explained the decision for closing and starting something new. He expressed how the last six months had made apparent the need for a change as it had become “very hard to pay the bills” with insufficient revenue coming in.
On the Walnut Grille Facebook and Instagram accounts, the restaurant posted an announcement on March 24, notifying their roughly 3,000 followers of their decision to make a change. In the message, they lamented that, “we never really recovered financially from the pandemic.” A wave of reactions rolled into the comment sections on both social media posts. Loyal customers expressed sadness at their closing but also support for their next phase as Shiva’s Kitchen. The announcement reassured people that the restaurant would still cater food they loved and that customers should not “hesitate to ask for some of your Walnut Grille favorites if you need us to cater an event!”
Siva Kumar related to Fig City News how many Walnut Grille items would stay on the menu, such as the Gobi. Shiva’s Kitchen will uphold the promise of serving vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. There will be no significant renovations to the physical space, only “changing of some of the furniture” and some other minor changes to the interior.
The customers of Walnut Grille are wishing Siva Kumar and his team well on their new venture. In the meantime, customers may wish to check out Siva Kumar’s other restaurant, India Kitchen, at 45 Lexington Street in Watertown.
