A well-loved Los Angeles eatery that has been an integral part of its community for almost two decades is shutting its doors for good this Sunday due to increasing expenses and an exodus of residents from the area.

Akasha, a versatile establishment offering a bakery, café, and restaurant experience, shared news of its upcoming closure via an Instagram post on September 30. Founded by Akasha Richmond and Alan Schulman in 2008, it has been a fixture in downtown Culver, nestled within the sprawling Los Angeles metropolitan region.

For 18 years, Akasha delighted its patrons with a diverse array of globally-inspired dishes, but the ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic, escalating labor and ingredient costs, and the migration of people out of the city ultimately led to its decision to cease operations.

The devastated owners specifically mentioned the actors’ strike, and the movie business migrating to cheaper locations to film blockbusters, as reasons for their closure.  

In the Instagram post announcing the close, owners Richmond and Schulman wrote: ‘Like so many beloved independent restaurants, the challenges of recent years have become too great to overcome.’

The post went on to explain the reasons for closing ranged, ‘from the aftereffects of COVID-19 and the entertainment industry strikes, to the film business moving away from Southern California, and the ever-rising costs of food and labor.’

According to the most recent PODS Moving Trends Report, which analyzed customer move data from January 2024 through March 2025, Los Angeles was the city that had the most people move out in that period for the second year in a row. 

The report cited a combination of high costs of living, low housing affordability, increased natural disaster risks and overcrowding as the reasons for people moving. 

Before the pressures that led to Akasha’s closure, the restaurant was a neighborhood favorite, serving food which reflected the breadth of its owners’ travel experiences. 

Patrons of the beloved restaurant shared their devastated reactions under Instagram posts about Akasha closing. 

‘Make it stop. We are losing so many special places that make up the heart of our city,’ wrote one commenter. 

‘This is my favorite place. I’m so sorry to see you guys go!! Akasha is my favorite restaurant and will be deeply missed,’ wrote another. 

‘NOOOOOOOOO,’ a third commenter simply wrote.  

Richmond, who co-founded the restaurant and served as its chef, served dishes such as tandoori chicken wings for $19, Bali tofu curry for $23, and the most expensive item on the menu, an eight ounce flat iron steak for $38.

Locals and visitors from across LA were attracted to Akasha’s welcoming environment and healthy, diverse menu. 

Industry professionals from nearby studios would frequent the restaurant, making the city’s film industry exodus hit the business particularly hard. 

The restaurant was particularly popular among the Jewish community during the High Holy Days for its Rosh Hashanah take-out and dine-in dinners. 

It also served Passover dinners that helped locals in the city’s Jewish diasporic community celebrate during the pandemic. 

Although the restaurant is shuttering its brick and mortar location, Akasha will continue to run a catering business and serve food at special events. 

The owners closed their goodbye post on Instagram by writing: ‘We are profoundly grateful to our loyal guests, restaurant partners, farmers and vendors, our staff past and present, and the many friends who have become family along the way.’ 

Akasha joins a series of LA restaurants that have had to close over the past few years due to a variety of problems faced by the city. 

In August, Cole’s French Dip, inventor of the French Dip Sandwich, permanently closed its doors due to rampant crime in the area as well as pressures caused by the actors and writers strikes, the consistent rising costs of labor and goods, high rent costs and ‘mounting bureaucracy and legal exposure’.

In October 2024, Ceviche Stop, a restaurant that was named as one of the best restaurants in Culver City by Eater, was forced to close after a spate of violent crime cost them tens of thousands of dollars

In May 2024, California restaurant owners were already sounding the alarm about the industry struggling in the face of a perfect storm of rising costs, changing customer habits and new regulations which were beginning to threaten the survival of many beloved establishments.