Sāmbār Shutters August 27 in Downtown Culver City

Sad news out of Culver City today, as restaurateur Akasha Richmond publicly announced plans to imminently shutter her modern Indian concept Sāmbār. The announcement comes from Richmond herself, who notes in a social media post that "the concept was far too niche for the neighborhood."

Sāmbār opened to a fair amount of praise back in March of 2015, with Richmond — who also owns a namesake restaurant next door — pulling in flavors and dishes from her time spent traveling across India. The restaurant was formerly Ford’s Filling Station under chef Ben Ford, and actually retained a massive original oven from the previous concept’s days, which was used as a sort of stand-in for a tandoor oven when making naan and other dishes.

It seems that ultimately the space won’t be down long, as Richmond says she’ll be re-concepting the space with plans to install an Italian menu by mid-September. Until then, expect dinner-only hours moving forward until August 27, when the restaurant will go fully dark for a few weeks.

More from Richmond:

After long reflection, we have made the decision to say goodbye to Sāmbār… This restaurant was a long time dream of mine and although we have many loyal fans, we eventually realized that the concept was far too niche for the neighborhood and our local diners. As a restaurateur, I understand this is a business and we must strive to satisfy the needs of our customers.

Want in on those last few weeks of Sāmbār? You can still make a reservation for dinner now.