In what’s sizing up to be the year’s most heartwarming closure, Paru’s Indian Vegetarian Restaurant is now shuttered for good as of March 17. But this isn’t one of those common LA stories where increased rents or partner disputes caused the change. Owner Kannan Natarajan was ready for retirement. In addition, the timing was ideal, so he found a buyer, and even decided to share the proceeds with longtime employees.

The family-owned Paru’s first opened in Washington, DC in 1975, then Natarajan moved to Los Angeles and opened a location in East Hollywood in 1979. Visitors entered through a metal security door to find a cozy 1,000 square foot restaurant, with a lush 1,200 square foot patio. As one of Eater LA’s essential Indian restaurants, Natarajan served South Indian dishes, keeping many of the same employees since its opening. The landlord never raised the rent.

When Natarajan’s original landlord passed away four years ago, he considered leaving the business behind for a number of reasons. He believed the landlord’s children deserved to reap the benefits of their father with a rent increase. Plus, Natarajan was tired after forty years of running the restaurant. After finding a buyer, Natarajan gave half of the $150,000 sale to his longtime employees.

Eater spoke with Natarajan, who provided the following statement:

“We had Paru’s for such a long time, and there’s a time and a season for everything. You’ve done all you can with it, and it’s like a baton in a relay where someone picks up the stick and you stop running. We just ran out of energy. I had the same employees from the beginning that became like a family. Letting them go was a sad thing for us, but we are thankful because so many beautiful employees and customers, including people like Janet Jackson and Paul McCartney. We come into this life with nothing and we go with nothing.”

Paru’s Indian Vegetarian Restaurant. 5140 Sunset Blvd, East Hollywood, CA