STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Sagara Food City, a Staten Island restaurant that earned Michelin recognition for five consecutive years, closed in mid-November after serving the Tompkinsville community since 2017. New ownership will take over the location at 98 Victory Boulevard this month.
The small storefront earned a Bib Gourmand award from the Michelin Guide, honoring its value and quality. This distinction, bestowed on only a handful of Staten Island restaurants each year, catapulted the modest takeout spot into the culinary spotlight, with phones ringing nonstop from morning to night as delivery orders poured in from across the region.
A la minute dishes like deviled goat, paired with vibrant vegetables from the in-house market, may remain a tradition under future ownership.
Owners Sagara and Anuradh Hewabajgamage opened the restaurant about a year before the New York Times praised the humble establishment, then a bare-bones sit-down eatery.
The childhood sweethearts emigrated from Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1998, first settling in Stamford, Connecticut, where they worked at Donut Delight. Anuradh struggled with homesickness during that time. “I couldn’t eat or drink,” she recalled of her time in Connecticut while expecting her first child. The couple moved to Staten Island in 2002, drawn by the borough’s large Sri Lankan community.
Sagara, left, and Anuradh Hewabajgamage at Sagara Food City have made Sagara Food City a mainstay in Tompkinsville since their tiny spot became a major food destination courtesy of the New York Times and Michelin.
Before launching Sagara Food City, they operated another restaurant near Cebra Avenue in 2007, which closed a year later. Sagara worked multiple part-time jobs while Anuradh raised their three children before they tried again with Sagara Food City.
The restaurant temporarily closed during April and May 2020. “It was a very tough time,” said Sagara. “Groceries were moving fast. People were asking for delivery.” During the height of the COVID pandemic, the couple transformed their dining room into a mini Sri Lankan marketplace stocked with Ceylonese canned goods, spices, teas, and fresh herbs and vegetables. They also expanded delivery service to reach customers as far as Upstate New York, New Jersey, and Long Island.
Highly perishable bitter melons and other produce were super fresh at the restaurant which doubled as a market. Pamela Silvestri
The restaurant’s specialty was lamprai, a meal wrapped in a banana leaf containing rice, caramelized eggplant and onions, fried plantains, chilies, cashews, a deep-fried boiled egg and sambol, along with a protein such as goat, chicken, pork, shrimp or kingfish. The menu also featured curries, roti bread, and deviled dishes with thick chili paste.
String hoppers, shredded patties made from pancake-like crepes, were in such demand that Anuradh and her team made 500 to 800 daily. The kitchen also produced 50 bread loaves made with coconut oil each day.
All savory pastries and breads were made from scratch with a yeasty dough that filled the store with its delightful fragrance. Why the closure and what to expect
Although the business thrived, Anuradh says she is weary from the daily demands of running a restaurant. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to neighbors and patrons across Staten Island for the small storefront’s remarkable success. With their children grown, she and her husband are ready to turn the page and begin the next chapter in their lives.
In the meantime, Anuradh is asking Staten Islanders to support relief efforts in Sri Lanka, where her former hometown has been devastated by flooding from Cyclone Ditwah. She highlighted a Staten Island effort, the Cyclone Ditwah Relief Fund: GoFundMe page — gofundme.com/f/support-american-sri-lanka-buddhist-association. The cyclone triggered deadly landslides and left hundreds dead and thousands displaced. The borough-born fundraiser has a goal of $10,000, with donations directed to the official Disaster Relief Fund established by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Funds will be received by the American Sri Lanka Buddhist Association, located at 115 John St., Port Richmond, and donated to flood victims.