‘It became a burden’: Edmonton’s top-rated Indian restaurant closes permanently due to construction

Edmonton’s top-ranked Indian restaurant is no more.

After locking up the award for best Indian restaurant in Edify Magazine in 2025, the door to Khazana is locked and the lights turned off for good.

The owners are shuttering both the downtown and Windemere locations.

“This was a very, very hard decision for us to close this down,” said Mehaik Bhasin, the restaurant’s operations manager.

Bhasin says she’s heartbroken to see her family business of 28 years in its final days.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was a factor in cutting their signature buffet, they were also hit by recent construction woes.

“That became honestly almost impossible to run day-to-day operations,” Bhasin said. “Yes, we could have events and figure out parking further, but that doesn’t allow us to keep our staff paid properly day-to-day, and just financially, it became a burden more than exciting.”

After enduring construction of O-day’min Park and still trying to survive the Valley Line West LRT closures, Bhasin says the unpredictability just became too much to handle.

Ward O-day’min councillor Anne Stevenson says the loss of the business is a major hit to the downtown core. She adds the situation highlights a need for more supports for businesses grappling with the realities of a growing city.

She wants to see major projects planned better to help minimize the impact on businesses, as well as potential financial relief for owners.

“If you don’t have a sidewalk in front of your building, if you don’t have a road going to your property, then I think you deserve a relaxation on property taxes during these significant multi-year construction projects,” Coun. Stevenson said.

That will be discussed by council during the four-year budget deliberations later this year.

It’s too late for Khazana, though. The family is using the next few days to give back to the community that’s given them so much over the years.

“We’re going to close it out in a very graceful manner,” Bhasin said. “Whatever we have, we’re trying to donate – some of the food to students, and people in need. And we’ve got a lot of support from our community who’s reached out and called us. So we’re just going to take this time to appreciate what we had.”