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Wednesday is the last day of operation of Tara Kitchen\u2019s catering business and market, seen Tuesday, in Guilderland.<\/p>\n
Lori Van Buren\/Times Union<\/p>\n
The Guilderland location of Tara Kitchen was reimagined as a Mediterranean market, takeout and catering hub in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lori Van Buren\/Times Union<\/p>\n
Catering operations will continue until the Guilderland building is sold.<\/p>\n
Lori Van Buren\/Times Union<\/p>\n
Aneesa Waheed is seen in her Tara Kitchen restaurant on July 19, 2017, in Troy.<\/p>\n
John Carl D’Annibale<\/p>\n
Tara Kitchen will close its Guilderland location, which house the Moroccan comfort food restaurant\u2019s catering business and market. Wednesday is the restaurant\u2019s last day of operation.<\/p>\n
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Founder and owner\u00a0Aneesa Waheed began to see \u201ca declining trend in sales\u201d at the restaurant. The staff tried to \u201cself-diagnose\u201d the causes, prompting a major conversion earlier this year. Waheed and local chef Ric Orlando had reimagined the location as a Mediterranean market, takeout and catering hub for Tara Kitchen in June<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, that didn\u2019t really work,\u201d Waheed said. Combined with the rising cost of goods and labor shortages that \u201ckept compounding month after month after month,\u201d the decision was made to close the Guilderland location.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something to be said for fail fast,\u201d Waheed said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been here five years now, and it feels like we\u2019ve done what we could have done here. So, it\u2019s just time to sort of think of new ways to be and grow and be sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n Goods at the market will be 50% off, and catering operations will continue until the\u00a0Guilderland building is sold. At\u00a0that point, catering will move to Tara Kitchen\u2019s flagship restaurant in Schenectady.<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCould we have hung on and tried to hobble along into next year? Of course\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s not so desperate that we have to shut it down,\u201d Waheed said. \u201cMy thought really was that I want to intentionally focus on some other really big things that are happening within the company. It\u2019s easier to make things grow and prosper when things are going well, rather than constantly trying to plug holes.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tara Kitchen in New York City\u2019s Tribeca is \u201cdoing gangbusters,\u201d Waheed said, and plans for that location will require Waheed to be onsite more. Additionally, Tara Kitchen has a new location planned, to be announced after details are finalized in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n This marks the second Tara Kitchen location to announce its closure this year. In April,\u00a0its Wildwood, N.J., location announced it would not reopen<\/a> after four summers in the shore town. In an April 2025 interview with the Times Union,<\/a> Waheed said the decision to close the Wildwood restaurant was because her kids were older and preferred to spend their summers at home with friends, not at the Jersey shore.<\/p>\n Tara Kitchen was born out of the popularity of Waheed and husband Muntasim Shoaib\u2019s Moroccan food at farmers markets. The original restaurant opened in Schenectady in 2012. Tara Kitchen is also in Troy, Manhattan\u2019s Tribeca neighborhood and Hyderabad, India. Waheed opened the restaurant at a former Paesan\u2019s Pizza on Western Avenue in November 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waheed was named the New York state 2024 \u201cSmall Business Person of the Year\u201d by the United States Small Business Administration.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Waheed acknowledged this has been a \u201cdifficult, challenging year\u201d for many of her peers. But she also noted that for minority- and women-owned businesses, the financial and labor challenges have been backdropped by growing hostility. She pointed to a Facebook commenter who said\u00a0Waheed should be deported<\/a> on a post made by Albany Business Review earlier this week about the restaurant\u2019s closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Tara Kitchen\u2019s diagnosis of the Guilderland location, Waheed said the team questioned if it being led by a Muslim woman had any impact. Waheed said the racism and xenophobic remarks \u201creally was amplified\u201d this year, citing increased Facebook messages, emails and \u201coff-handed remarks that people make.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so, so, so hard to pinpoint to this actually happening, because you can kind of sort of sense it. You can sort of feel it, but at the same time, then there\u2019s nothing tangible that you can hold on to and say: Here it is. This is what\u2019s happening,\u201d Waheed said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n