One of the first and longest-running fine-dining Indian restaurants in Vancouver is no more after a five-decade run.

Sitar in Gastown has taped a handwritten sign to the premises that reads, in part, “closed permanently. After 41 years of pleasant service to our customers. Thank you very much.”

The local Facebook page Vancouver Restaurant History posted on the Sitar closure with the comment: “Sad. Low Tide Properties recently bought the building.”

Low Tide Properties is a real estate company cofounded by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. The company owns a number of multi-family rental buildings in Seattle, as well as commercial Vancouver properties.
The Straight has reached out to both Low Tide and the Sitar for comment.

Sitar opened in Gastown in 1983, specializing in the food of Northern India.

It’s not the first Vancouver landmark on the block to close, as The Diamond shuttered last summer after the death of the building’s former owner “Diamond” Jack Wiley. The site that included both the Diamond and the Sitar (2 to 12 Powell Street and 200 Carrall Street) was listed for sale, eventually selling for $10.2 million.