Peterborough city centre restaurant founder urges customers to get behind new team running it
Well-known Peterborough restaurateur Dinesh Odedra has thrown his support behind a new team running the city centre’s Banyan Tree Indian restaurant – and has called on its loyal customers to do the same.
Dinesh opened the restaurant in 2011 in Westgate but stepped away in 2023 for health reasons, allowing a new ownership to operate the business.
But with that operator walking away without warning this week, the staff were left in limbo – and immediately turned to Dinesh for help and advice.
Tonight on social media, Dinesh appealed to the “Dear friends of The Banyan Tree,” adding: “It breaks my heart to see the very people who built The Banyan Tree’s reputation treated as collateral damage.
“When the staff visited me — tearful, voices shaky but determined — I knew I had to help, even if my health won’t let me take the wheel again.”
Helping the staff take over the abandoned operation, the chef-owned and chef-run team is taking back control, ensuring there is no interruption in operations, and promising “back-to-basics cooking – the exact recipes and care that made you fall in love with The Banyan.”
Appealing directly to customers to the restaurant over the last 14 years, he added: “If a Banyan Tree curry ever warmed your night, please give the staff and chefs the chance to earn that smile back again. Your first order isn’t just dinner—it’s a lifeline that turns layoffs into a worker-owned comeback story. Make it happen, come and be part of that success.
“I’ll be on hand as mentor and cheerleader; they’ll be in there running the business, doing what they do naturally.
“My best wishes to Mundhi, Oskar, Ranbir and Sam.”