BILLERICA, MA—Popular Indian restaurant Pongal in Billerica, MA, which was temporally closed, has been permanently shut down. Replacing Pongal at the location is a new Indian fusion restaurant Royal Tavern.
Royal Tavern, which will be located in the former Pongal space at 786 Boston Post Road in Billerica, is a new concept of Indian restaurateur Satya Sundarannedi, who owns nearby Chettinad Indian Grill in Burlington, MA, and both Udupi and newly-opened Spice Indian Grill in Nashua, NH.
“It will be a tapas bar with Indian fusion food,” said Sundarannedi. “We will have a combination of different kinds of foods such as tacos, burgers, regular North Indian kebab and Indian chaat, among other items.”
He said Royal Tavern is not going to be a dinner place, but a tapas bar.
“It is more focused on American and younger Indian crowed,” Sundarannedi told INDIA New England News. “It is not your typical Indian restaurant.”
The 100-plus seat restaurant will have 15 different kinds of beer, high-end wine and scotch and cocktails to pair with the food and a number of TV screens playing all kinds of sports, especially cricket, baseball and basket ball.
“There is a lot of turmoil in Indian restaurant market scene,” Sundarannedi said. “I am trying to do something different.”
The Pongal, which specialized in preparing traditional dishes from the southern India, had been a popular restaurant in the area. Earlier, it had put a sign outside its entrance door, saying that “We are closed now for some management changes.”
Sundarannedi said Pongal has been closed now. Former owners and managers of the restaurant could not be immediately reached for comment.
