Award-winning, acclaimed Garland restaurant to close in Raleigh. Here’s what we know.

Beneath a music hall and above a dive bar, the Raleigh restaurant Garland altered the landscape of Southern food, serving Indian and Asian dishes that traced the North Carolina seasons and ingredients.

But after nine years, Garland will close, its owners Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler announced Wednesday.

“It is with many emotions that we announce the closing of Garland in its current location. 14 W. Martin Street has housed Garland since its inception in 2013, and Kings and Neptunes since 2010,” Kumar and Siler wrote in a release.

“Operating on Martin Street for more than a decade and being an important part of Downtown Raleigh has brought us more joy and fulfillment than we could have dreamed. We have evolved and learned so much over this time and feel proud of being a part of this community. Operating through the pandemic over the last 2 years has shown us the potential of this amazing space and we look forward to ushering in its reinvention. “

The restaurant’s last day of service will be Saturday, Aug. 27.

Since opening in 2013, Garland and Kumar have collected nationwide praise for a menu that’s fiercely seasonal yet challenged the stereotypes and expectations of Southern food. Kumar was the News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Month for June, describing Garland at the time as representing a new kind of cuisine in America.

“We’re a New American restaurant, which might bring to mind specific things for people, but that’s what we are,” Kumar said. “We represent the diversity that is America now, that’s what we are, we’re not really defined by any boundaries or culture.”

As Garland’s chef, Kumar became a five-time James Beard Award semifinalist, and was most recently a finalist for Best Chef: Southeast.

Kumar and Siler’s next culinary project will be a collaboration with the bakery Anisette at 209 Bickett Blvd. in Raleigh, slated for an opening later this year or early next year.

“We are excited to remain a part of Raleigh’s community of local, independent entrepreneurship that sets our city apart from so many,” Kumar and Siler said in a release.

While Garland’s departs downtown Raleigh, the owners say they’ll still be serving pop up dinners over the next few months.