It’s a tough time for celebrity chef, Maneet Chauhan, and her employees. The Food Network star announces on social media that her popular Chaatable restaurant has closed, hopefully temporarily, while she looks for a new location. The restaurant, which was previously located at 345 40th Ave N, Nashville, offers a unique take on Indian street food, with items like Chili Paneer, Goat Biryani, Masala Fries and more.
“As of right now, we are closing this location and looking for another location,” Chauhan said in a video posted on Instagram. “We hope to see you over there, and just wanted to thank all of you for the love and support you have given us since the time we opened in 2018. We look forward to meeting you soon and continuing ‘chaating.'”
Chauhan then panned to her downtown Chauhan Ale and Masala House, which showed construction all around her.
“So stay tuned for updates as to when we’ll open, because right now the other three restaurants are dealing with this,” she continued. “Not one restaurant has a road that anybody can drive up to. We’re still getting people, so thank you so much for the love.”
Chauhan shared the video on August 26. However, in a statement by Morph Hospitality, which was obtained by WSMV, it seems the future of Chaatable remains in question.
“Despite industry-wide hardships, temporary closures and loss of revenue due to COVID, we have worked as hard as possible to keep Chaatable open over the last few years,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, after working with our landlord, a decision had to be made to close the business. Closing a business you love is never an easy decision to make. Unionization efforts had absolutely nothing to with this difficult decision.
“We support hospitality workers unequivocally and are providing a generous severance to all employees who qualify,” the statement continues. “Chaatable has been such a source of joy for us, and we’re hoping to find it a new home soon so we can welcome back our employees and our customers.”
It seems the Chaatable employees were as surprised by the sudden closure as the restaurant’s guests. Although rumors of closure had been swirling for a while, they reportedly did not find out that the restaurant had indeed closed until they showed up for work on Friday, August 26. Several employees had reached out to Chauhan and the other owners, and had planned to file for a union in the immediate future.
“Maneet had said they would be closing soon, but after she heard about the union, they closed yesterday. We know nothing about job security or anything like that,” former Chaatable employee Jeffery Deadwood told WSMV. “She encouraged us to start looking for new jobs. No one has said anything to us. I was supposed to be paid yesterday because I get paper checks, and now they’re closed, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
In addition to Chaatable and Chauhan’s Ale and Masala House, Chauhan also owns Mockingbird and Tansuo. Updates will be posted at ChaatableNashville.com as available.
