MYSTERY surrounds the closure of Bognor’s iconic Bombay Indian restaurant — one of the oldest such eateries in the country.
The much-loved Bombay closed its doors a couple of months ago with the promise from the staff that it would re-open once it had undergone a refurbishment.
But we can reveal that there will be no more curries served at the restaurant and it won’t be open again to service such favourties as madras, vindaloo or tikka.
The reason behind the closure remains unclear, but we have spoken to one of the former waiters who tells us that those at the helm said they’d “had enough” of the business. He added that it had suffered a downturn in trade.
Regulars disagree that trade was particularly slow and state that only a few nights before the kitchen served up the last of its spice dishes it was bustling with diners.
One said;
“The Bombay was iconic, a one-off. It had been open for more than 50 years and was one of the oldest curry houses in the country, and probably the oldest in Sussex.”
“It is such a shame that it has closed and although we understand it has been said that a downturn in business had forced it to close, there are other, perhaps less reliable, stories doing the rounds as to why it has shut.”
“Maybe we shall never know. It would have been nice to perhaps have a ‘closing down week’ where all the regulars from over the years could had one final curry there. But it wasn’t to be.”
The closure comes after arguably the town’s favourite Chinese restaurant failed to open again after being gutted by a blaze. The Jasmine House, owned by popular businessman Stevie Pang, sits empty in London Road, a few doors up from the Bombay.