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Walnut Grille, located at 1203 Walnut Street in Newton Highlands, will be closing its doors on Saturday, April 1, the restaurant said in a Facebook post.
The eatery said they "never really recovered financially from the pandemic" and thus made the decision to close. However, Walnut's end marks a new beginning for the plant-based brand.
"We will be rebranding to our new concept Shiva’s Kitchen," the restaurant said in the post. "Our new restaurant will be offering Indian cuisine. We will be open for lunch and dinner and available for catering. Please don’t hesitate to ask for some of your Walnut Grille favorites if you need us to cater an event!"
Walnut Grille, which opened in 2013, started as a "brand new concept developed from scratch to cater to not just Vegetarians/Vegans but a wide range of audience," their Yelp page reads.
Popular menu items included stuffed artichoke hearts, soy-based "chicken" breasts served piccata-style and portobello mushroom steak with truffled mashed potatoes.
The news of Walnut's rebranding came with bittersweet reactions from patrons, who raved about the restaurant's seasonally inspired menu.
"I’ve very much enjoyed eating at your restaurant and I will miss the delicious food and ambiance," one Facebook user commented on Walnut's post. "It is good to hear you’re opening Shiva’s Kitchen and I look forward to trying it!"
"Thank you, Walnut Grille, for your many years of being a great asset to the veg community," the Boston Vegetarian Society commented. "We appreciate the wonderful BVS Vegan Valentines events at Walnut Grill over the many years. You will be missed."
Walnut said that Shiva's will also feature vegan and gluten free options.
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