Even Dave Sharma Wants Indian Home Diner To Stay Open Until The Devil’s Hour
The iconic eatery has been banned from feeding Sydney's messiest humans until 3am anymore.
Partygoers and insomniacs alike are rallying together to try keep Indian Home Diner open for longer during the freakin’ weekend in Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street.
The Indian kebab joint in Paddington — a stone throw’s away from the popular Unicorn Hotel — has been the go-to spot for late-night feeds, offering their speciality garlic cheese stuffed naan until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.
However, it’s now at risk at being forced to shut down early, much to the outrage and horror of its regulars.
Hey @elonmusk can you buy Indian Home Diner and keep it open until 3am
— Matt Buxton (@mattbuxton22) April 28, 2022
Bengali-Australian owner Robert Chowdry applied to Woollahra Municipal Council last month to take his unofficial business hours above board, but was instead slapped with a notice that he’d have to close shop at midnight on his key business nights instead.
Chowdry was told Indian Home Diner could have an “adverse impact upon the acoustic and visual privacy of neighbouring lands”. The council proclaimed that it was “not in the public interest” to let it stay open for longer, and continuing to operate until 3am without council permission would land him a fine, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Bondi Lines — the nightlife queue monitoring account which pivoted to sharing PCR waiting times during the summer Omicron variant spike — has once again changed agendas to try support Indian Home Diner’s woes.
The Instagram page shared a public service announcement on Thursday to its near 50,000 followers, warning that punters will be “deprived of your last meal of the night” if the council wins.
It corresponds with a petition which has since gathered over 3500 signatures, with aims to be presented at the next council meeting on May 9.
“We have created a petition to reinstate IHD’s hours to what is right –3am at the earliest,” it reads. “Robert, his family, and team have been trading for 13 years in Paddington, do not let this dynasty stop early. Long live IHD.”
The noble effort has sparked a flurry of testimonials online in support for its special place in Sydneysiders’ hearts.
“I used to work in a building that was part of St Vincent’s Hospital. I would work long nights on my PhD there,” said James Jansson on Twitter. “Indian Home Diner’s kebab sustained me because it was open late. It’s not noisy and attracts polite clientele.”
“Save Indian Home Diner!” another user wrote. “The jumbo garlic cheese kebab is of the greatest things ever, and a go-to hangover dish when I lived in the area!”
Liberal MP Dave Sharma also sprung onto the scene, calling the debacle a “tragedy”, and vowing to restore Indian Home Diner’s hours. “No good night out in Sydney’s east is complete without a stop at Indian Home Diner,” he wrote, alongside a photoshoot with Chowdry.
Soon after, Independent candidate Allegra Spender, who is contesting his seat of Wentworth in the Federal Election next month, also weighed in. “Business was hit hard enough during COVID, and even though I haven’t been to The Unicorn for a while, even I know Indian Home Diner is a national treasure. Let’s save it,” she said.
“It is more than just a restaurant, it is a community,” the petition reads. The people have spoken, Woollahra Council — your move.
Indian Home Diner is THE Wentworth election issue that affects all Sydneysiders. #auspol #nswpol
— Dominic Bock (@DomBock) April 28, 2022