Downtown Kamloops restaurant owners closing doors and saying goodbye
A family owned restaurant in downtown Kamloops is closing its doors at the end of October.
Spezia House has been serving the community delicious authentic Pakistani food for two years.
“This has been an amazing journey here in Kamloops and we are so grateful for all of the love and support we have received,” said co-owner Amna Ahmed, who is known by many for her scrumptious chicken biryani rice dish.
The lease for the restaurant is coming to an end and due to family related reasons, the family has opted not to renew it, but their cooking adventure is continuing on.
Their plan is to move to a bigger city and open a bigger restaurant.
“Right now we are looking at Calgary,” Ahmed said. “I’m excited and worried. Kamloops has shown us so much love. It is a small city here and everyone knows us. We are going to miss everyone’s familiar faces here.”
Spezia House opened in Oct. 2020 and is located in the Food Court at 101 B Victoria Street.
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Ahmed said the family is looking to sell the venue and is hoping it will be someone who can keep on serving Pakistani dishes to the community.
“We would be more than happy to help set someone up,” she said. “We’d love for someone to continue the Pakistani restaurant. Even if they do not have experience in Canada. We came with no experience here but our passion for the industry, along with support from the community, brought us success.”
She said since she started letting her customers know of the move, she has been receiving a lot of encouraging feedback.
“We are getting so many calls from so many customers saying goodbye and it breaks our hearts,” she said. “Telling us how much they love our food and service, and wishing us luck on our new chapter.”
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While chicken biryani has been a star of the restaurant’s menu, other fan favourites for the past couple of years have been the butter chicken, chicken cheesy paratha and Pakistani spiced gyros.
“Try your favourite food one last time and come say ‘hello’ before we go,” Ahmed said. “Thank you for all the love and support Kamloops has shown us.”
Those who are interested in learning more about the sale of the venue are asked to email speziahouse@gmail.com.
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