Latest news with #Mathrani
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan's young Trump voters stand by their man
In January, Donald Trump became the oldest man ever inaugurated president and he owed his comeback win in part, to young voters. Kamala Harris still won a majority of voters ages 18-29, but Trump narrowed his loss among young women from 2020 and won a majority of young men, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. One hundred days into Trump's second term, young men who voted for him seem happy with his performance, despite some hiccups. "I'd give him an A-minus," said Evan Hubbs, 20, of Birmingham, who cast his first presidential vote in November for Trump. "I think it's going pretty good overall." Hubbs is studying political science at Iowa State University. He said the reduction in border crossings from Mexico and the passage of the Laken Riley Act, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain migrants arrested for crimes, count as wins for Trump. He acknowledged that the economy has been volatile in the wake of Trump's tariffs, but he's convinced things will settle down soon. "The stock market has been a little bit of a roller coaster, but I think there is a solid chance that we finish out the rest of this quarter on a high note and I think that it's bigger than just the stock market," he said. Hubbs said Trump has not been able to unify the country but gives him credit for trying. He said he would like to see Trump cooperate more with America's allies abroad. "There's certain things that we need to cooperate on, and we need to work with our partners," he said. Despite his age, Krish Mathrani, 18, of Troy, has been politically active in conservative politics for years. He parlayed that activism into getting elected youth chair of the Michigan Republican Party at the state party convention in February. He also cast his first presidential vote for Trump in November and, like Hubbs, he gives Trump an A-minus. "I' think he is following through with his promises," Mathrani said. "He said he would do the reciprocal tariffs thing, he did just that. He said he would do his economic policy, his executive orders are exactly what he promised, with boys in women's locker rooms, with the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), ending DEI, with everything. It has been exactly what he promised." Mathrani also credits Trump for stricter enforcement at the Southern border. Mathrani's parents and grandparents all immigrated to the U.S. legally from India in the early 2000s. "I know how long they had to wait to come here. I know the process, and I know how much they appreciate it," Mathrani said. "When my family saw the amount of people who were coming here the wrong way, the illegal way, we felt mistreated. We felt it was unfair, which is why that is a big issue close to my heart." Mathrani acknowledged that the stock market has been rocky, but he's convinced it will turn for the better "The majority of Americans, they understand that this is a short term thing, and President Trump knows how to bring the economy back," Mathrani said. "He did that in 2016 when we're doing amazing before COVID happened." Not all young voters are happy with Trump. Loren Maxwell, 19, of West Bloomfield, is studying early childhood education at Oakland Community College. She said she voted for Trump in November, but acknowledges she had not researched the candidates or the parties well at the time. "I felt it was a little more obvious to see what Trump had in mind at the time, and the promises he was making seemed really great," she said. "But I feel like I should have done more research because, it's really hard to see where it's going. The future is really unsure." More: Whitmer, Nessel have chosen different rallying cries since Trump took office Maxwell said that Trump talked a lot about the economy and she thought there would be more support for people who lost their jobs during COVID-19 or were struggling to find work. As someone who hopes to teach one day, Maxwell said she doesn't like Trump's efforts to close down the Department of Education. She also has been disappointed with the tariffs because she shops online frequently for things like clothes and CDs. "I purchase a lot of things online from different countries," she said. "And this tariff is, well, I see a lot of websites talking about having to not ship here because it's too much. Like no one's gonna make a profit off of it, because the fees are gonna be so high." Maxwell wouldn't say that she regretted her vote, but said that she wishes she'd done more research before voting. She still hopes things change for the better. "I'm keeping an open mind, but I am leaning toward a little bit of disappointment," she said. "But only the future can tell where it's all gonna end up." Tyler Soncrainte, 25, of Waterford, has made up his mind. He's happy he voted for Trump. "I've really enjoyed seeing him develop DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and show how much our federal government is continuously wasting our tax dollars every year," Soncrainte said. "I think that he has a pretty strategic approach to most of what he does and that makes sense." Like Mathrani, Soncrainte has been an active Republican for years and even ran unsuccessfully for a township office in Waterford. He said that he's happy to see stricter enforcement along the Southern border and he's willing to be patient through the stock market swings. He would like to see more progress on foreign affairs. "I was hoping that we would have more resolution with the conflict in the Middle East, as well as with Russia and Ukraine," Soncrainte said. "Unfortunately, we haven't solved those yet. I think he's making progress toward it, but I would like to see more peace talks and whatnot with the rest of the world." More: Details released about Trump's 100-days rally in Macomb County on April 29 Soncrainte said Trump hasn't been able to make much progress unifying the country, but he blames much of that on a certain percentage of the population that will never accept Trump. Overall, Soncrainte said he is happy with his vote and with what he has seen so far from Trump. "I love having a president where his initiatives feel as if he is putting America first ... you know, reviving the American dream," he said. "Sometimes you'll hear stuff that isn't so pretty about him, but he's a complete changeup of what we had the last four years, and that's exactly what I voted for." Contact John Wisely: jwisely@ On X: @jwisely This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Young Trump voters in Michigan stand by their man 100 days in
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Veeraswamy: UK's oldest curry house could close over lease row
The UK's oldest curry house, which reaches its centenary next year, is at risk of closure over a lease on London's Regent Street, Michelin-starred Veeraswamy has seen the likes of Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, Ghandi and the Prince of Wales walk through its doors - which are now the subject of dispute with its owners, the Crown issue involves an 11 sq m (120 sq ft) space at the entrance of Victory House, where the Indian restaurant occupies four floors, according to its Crown Estate said it needed to remove the restaurant's entrance as it had limited options available on how it could carry out a "comprehensive refurbishment" of Victory House. Royal beer tradition The restaurant's co-owner Ranjit Mathrani said: "This is a unique and legendary institution, one of very few examples of a restaurant being in the same location for such a long period of time."Veeraswamy was created in Victory House on the same day the late queen was born, on 21 April 1926. It is also believed to be the birth place of the tradition of having a beer with Indian food, started by Prince Axel of Denmark who used to dine there in the 1920s. Mr Mathrani added: "It's more than just a restaurant, it is a living institution and part of the British love for India."The restaurant's lease comes to an end in Mathrani said he was "astonished" when in June 2024, the Crown approached him to say the lease would not be renewed because the previous year they had asked if he wanted to take more space in the said he turned down the offer as he was not convinced the restaurant needed the extra space."The situation came like a bolt out of the blue," he added. Mr Mathrani said they took immediate legal action, due to it being a protected tenancy. He said they had the right to ask for a lease renewal for 14 years unless the landlord needed the property for its own use or if refurbishment works would be so damaging to the trade of tenant they would have to move out. He added a court hearing was expected to be held around March to June 2026, and that the restaurant would remain open until at least then."If we lose the court case, we hope to have time to move and find another space." A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said it had a "duty to generate value for the nation, while acting as responsible stewards for this historic part of London". "This includes a major upgrade to the offices and improving the entrance to make it more accessible. "We appreciate this is upsetting for Veeraswamy and have offered to help find new premises elsewhere on our portfolio having explored other options to accommodate their needs. "Veeraswamy has been a valued part of Regent Street for many years. We thank them and their customers for their contributions to the West End." Mr Mathrani said they had gone to the Crown Estate with various proposals for an alternative solution, which had so far been rejected. "I think they have come to the view that we are a bit of a nuisance, which is why they want us to go."He added a petition was going to be launched due to "overwhelming" support they had received. "Veeraswamy brings heritage, variety and depth to Regent Street. There are cultural, historical and gastronomic reasons to keep Veeraswamy where it is."We sincerely hope the Crown Estate will come to recognise that we play a significant role and add lustre to their portfolio."I think it's very important London continues to have this institution and we will be distraught to not see it here," Mr Mathrani added.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
UK's oldest Indian restaurant under threat in row with Crown Estate
The UK's oldest Indian restaurant is facing eviction from its historic central London home of 99 years, in a row with King Charles's property company. Veeraswamy has been frequented by a host of royalty and dignitaries from Britain and overseas during its decades spent in Victory House at 99 Regent Street, with notable guests including Princess Anne, Winston Churchill, Indira Ghandi and Charlie Chaplin. The restaurant even believes it was the only outside caterer ever to have been invited by Queen Elizabeth II to cater a function hosted by the late monarch at Buckingham Palace in 2008, an honour repeated in 2017 during a visit by the Indian president. The Queen herself then accepted an invitatation to dine at the restaurant with Veeraswamy's owners, but the plans were disrupted by the Covid pandemic, Ranjit Mathrani, co-owner of its parent company MW Eat told The Independent. But Mr Mathrani now fears Veeraswamy will be forced to close after the Crown Estate opted not to renew the restaurant's Regent Street lease, which expires in June – in a dispute over a space roughly the size of the back of a transit van. After being informed of the decision last year, MW Eat is now taking the Crown Estate to court in a bid to delay their eviction – in the expectation that around two years would ideally be needed to reopen the restaurant at a new location. Mr Mathrani warned that, if the Crown Estate refuses to allow Veeraswamy to remain at the site until it can find an alternative, it would be forced to close prior to reopening elsewhere, potentially putting the jobs of its 50 staff at risk. 'It would be the end of a very significant living institution,' said Mr Mathrani. 'The thing about Veerswamy which is different is: it's not a mausoleum – a sarcophagus. It's a living, legendary institution which has been sustained and maintained over the years to be at the top of the game.' The Crown Estate said it needs to carry out a major refurbishment of the building, with limited options because of its grade II-listed status. The offices on the upper floors of Victory House are reported to have been empty since late 2023 following a flood in the basement, which affected the power supply to parts of the building. A Crown Estate spokesperson said: 'We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House. This includes a major upgrade to the offices and improving the entrance to make it more accessible. 'Due to the limited options available in this listed building we need to remove the entrance to the restaurant, which means we will not be able to offer Veeraswamy an extension when their lease expires.' Instead, once the entrance has been removed in order to create a reception area for the offices above, the restaurant will also be converted into new offices as part of the planned renovation, according to The Times. Mr Mathrani told the newspaper that the Crown Estate had insisted it would not be possible to create a new entrance for the building, and has so far been unable to find suitable place nearby for the restaurant to relocate to once the lease expires. 'I think it's an outrage. This is cultural philistinism,' Mr Mathrani told The Independent. 'Here is an institution supposedly with some regard for history given its legacy and its social objectives. And it is basically subordinating everything to the homogeneity of having a uniform office building.' In court documents, Mr Mathrani alleges that 'Crown Estate representatives made it clear to me that the historical significance of Veeraswamy is not a material consideration for them, because they are currently driven by an imperative instruction to maximise financial returns to the Treasury'. He adds: 'The general view at the Crown Estates, is that they can only do this by maximising offices and retail, and not our restaurant. However, at no stage have they asked us to match the returns they would receive from the offices or the retail unit.' Speaking to The Independent, Mr Mathrani said he believed that, 'if the Crown were being constructive and were mindful of their social responsibilities', they could achieve their objectives by keeping Veeraswamy at Regent Street. 'It'll be a tragedy if we were to end up – as we're going down the path of – with long expensive court cases of no benefit to either side,' he said, adding: 'It is sad and unfortunate that they've been unwilling to actually engage ... I hope it's not too late for them to reconsider.' Established in 1926 – on the same day Queen Elizabeth II was born – by retired Indian army officer Edward Palmer, grandson of the Mughal princess Faisan Nissa Begum, and taken over by MP William Stewart in 1934, Veeraswamy played host to a long list of famous figures over the past 10 decades, including Marlon Brando and Laurence Olivier. The restaurant is also said to have given rise to the tradition of pairing beer and curry, after Prince Axel of Denmark visited Veeraswamy and had a barrel of Carlsberg sent to the restaurant. It has held a Michelin star since 2016, and hosts around 80,000 diners each year, the majority of whom it says are visitors to London. Noting that it 'has a duty to generate value for the nation, while acting as responsible stewards for this historic part of London', the Crown Estate added: 'We appreciate this is upsetting for Veeraswamy and have offered to help find new premises elsewhere on our portfolio having explored other options to accommodate their needs. 'Veeraswamy has been a valued part of Regent Street for many years. We thank them and their customers for their contributions to the West End.'
The Guardian
14-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK's oldest Indian restaurant faces closure in dispute with crown estate
It has been a fixture of British-Indian dining since it first opened its doors in April 1926 on the day of Elizabeth II's birth, serving guests over the decades ranging from Marlon Brando to the late Queen herself. Yet despite surviving the Blitz and London's relentlessly competitive restaurant sector, a dispute with the current monarch's property developer threatens the survival of London's oldest Indian restaurant just short of its 100th anniversary. The crown estate, which owns Victory House, the listed building housing the Michelin-stared Veeraswamy restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, has said that it cannot continue to extend its lease against the backdrop of plans to refurbish and upgrade offices in the same property. Veeraswamy's co-owner Ranjit Mathrani is now heading to the high court to attempt to have the lease extended. He intends to lodge objections to the plans. Mathrani is also sure that the royal family would be unhappy to hear what is being done in their name to a restaurant long regarded as the grand dame of British-Indian food. He said: 'They believe in history, in living history, and that's what this restaurant is. It's not just a museum, and I think they would be disappointed that an institution bearing their name would be so heartless.' At lunchtime on Monday, diners waxed lyrical about the restaurant's heritage and current menu, which includes classics such as patiala shahi raan en croute, a Welsh lamb shank slow-cooked for six hours before being wrapped in pastry and grilled in a tandoor. The same menu includes photos of its historical equivalents, which included wartime offerings of lobster mayonnaise, jugged hare and sherry trifle. While the fare has evolved and sought to keep pace with modern British-Indian cooking, celebrity guests have remained constant. One diner said: 'It's just a really lovely place and for as long as I can remember there's always been a sort of excitement about it. It was a few years ago but I can remember coming here and the Prince of Wales was in another part of the restaurant. They had curtains drawn but there was a buzz.' Established in 1926 by Edward Palmer, the great-grandson of the first governor general of India's private secretary and a north Indian Moghul princess, the restaurant was intended to 'educate' Londoners about Indian food decades before the era of celebrity chefs. It was sold in 1934 to an MP, Sir William Steward, who made it a fashionable rendezvous among royalty and British elites returning from India. After a period of decline in the 1980s, it was bought by Mathrani and Namita Panjabi, who poured resources into recreating its past glories. In 2008, the restaurant catered for a function held by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and it was invited back to launch the UK-India 2017 Year of Culture. In 2016, it was awarded a Michelin star. Nevertheless, modern commercial motivations are now a factor in its future. The crown estate, the royals' ancient portfolio of land and property across England and Wales, wants to take back the restaurant because it plans to extend a ground-floor reception area for offices upstairs in the building that houses Veeraswamy. Knocking into the restaurants's entrance area, where a uniformed usher greets visitors, would give an extra 11 sq metres. The crown estate said in a statement issued this week that it needed to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House. 'This includes a major upgrade to the offices and improving the entrance to make it more accessible,' it added. 'Due to the limited options available in this listed building we need to remove the entrance to the restaurant, which means we will not be able to offer Veeraswamy an extension when their lease expires.'
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
American junk food is taking over Britain's high streets, warns curry tycoon
American junk food chains are taking over Britain's high streets, the owner of the UK's oldest Indian restaurant has said. Ranjit Mathrani, the founder of MW Eat, has said higher taxes and increased labour costs are playing into the hands of US fast food giants as they are better equipped to cope than smaller independent restaurants. It comes amid the fear of sweeping restaurant closures in the wake of Rachel Reeves's Budget, which increased both employer National Insurance rates and the National Minimum Wage. Mr Mathrani said: 'The McDonald's of the world and the KFCs of the world, with automation, will be less affected. The ones who will be most affected will be informal dining, everyday eating out for people who want table service and decent food at reasonable prices. 'It's going to affect the high street materially because the smaller restaurants will not survive, and the bigger ones will be converted into the Popeyes [US fried chicken chain] of the world, the fast food chains coming from the states.' MW Eat runs the Masala Zone chain, which has five sites across London, as well as the high-end Indian restaurants Amaya, Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy. Opened in 1926 by a retired British Indian Army Officer, Veeraswamy is the UK's oldest curry house and holds a Michelin Star for its cooking. Mr Mathrani has weighed in on the debate over restaurant closures as US chains such as Popeyes and Taco Bell expand at pace across Britain, fuelled by investment from private equity. As a result of the Budget, Mr Mathrani said his company would be forced to cut around 5pc of its workforce – equivalent to around 25 roles. He said: 'I've informed all my management that we will have to trim the headcount, and they're working on it as we speak. 'It'll be the restaurants which are giving customer service and providing food which is of variety and quality and made on the premises. That is what will be hollowed out for mass food service.' While Mr Mathrani does not oppose the idea of increasing NI contributions from employers, he believes the Chancellor's current plan could be tweaked so as not to specifically punish smaller hospitality businesses. In particular, he is opposed to the Chancellor's decision to lower the threshold at which NI is paid from £9,100 to £5,000, which he believes disproportionally impacts smaller restaurant chains that rely on part-time workers. The Treasury was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
