Akasha Restaurant announces permanent closure

One of Culver City's Downtown icons is winding down its operations.

Akasha Restaurant announced that this Sunday, October 5, would be its last day of restaurant service at its long-standing Downtown Culver City location. Owner Akasha Richmond and the restaurant team released a statement Monday informing the community of the imminent closure.

A culture shift following the COVID-19 pandemic and recent struggles in the California film industry has caused ripple effects, which many restaurants in the area have cited as the reason behind their closures. While some former Culver City staples — such as K-Zo Sushi, Sushi Mashiko, and Sweet Lily — left due to extenuating circumstances or retirement, others like KaynDaves, Harajuku Taproom, and Akasha have attributed their decisions to post-pandemic factors.

"Like so many beloved independent restaurants, the challenges of recent years have become too great to overcome," the statement announcing Akasha's closure begins.

Many restaurateurs have complained about a shift in culture away from restaurant dining, even as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. Uncertainty surrounds the film industry in California, as productions flee the state due to high labor costs and incentives created by subsidies outside the state.

Governor Gavin Newsom responded by more than doubling California's Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million this summer. However, restaurants are still feeling the consequences of the drop in potential customers resulting from the decline in film shooting days, which decreased by 6.2% year-over-year in Q2 2025, following a 22% year-over-year decrease in Q1 2025 according to reports from nonprofit FilmLA.

Combined with the burden from a continued rise in the cost of rent, food, and labor, the team at Akasha felt that business in its current form was unsustainable. An open letter to the community was sent on September 14, outlining the specific impacts that these overarching factors have had on the business and imploring the community to continue dining at the restaurant.

"For AKASHA, the biggest financial loss has been our breakfast and lunch business since so much film and television production has left California," the September 14 letter reads. "Along with the lack of filming, our local offices are just not filled with workers anymore."

While this final push was not enough to instill confidence that the full-service restaurant was sustainable, those truly wanting a taste of Akasha food after Sunday are not entirely out of luck. The Akasha team will continue to serve at-home meals, and the business will transition to serving catering and special events.

This is good news for those looking forward to Akasha's holiday offerings, which were remembered fondly in comments left on the restaurant's Facebook page.

"We've ordered your holiday dinners to impress guests," Lynn Wynbrandt commented on the Facebook post announcing the closure. "You were our 'go-to restaurant' for a never-fail, delicious meal."

"The Chanukah menu was a tradition for my friends and me," Lara Cohen commented.

Culver City Downtown Business Association Executive Director Darrel
Menthe expressed his sadness over the loss of a long-standing and iconic business in Culver City.

"They are a pillar of the Downtown Culver City Business Community," Menthe told Culver Crescent. "We are obviously heartbroken."

Commenters on Facebook sent their well wishes to the Akasha team, recalling the good times they had shared at the restaurant during its nearly two-decade-long life in Culver City.

"We started our marriage celebrating with our friends and family at your beautiful restaurant 15 years ago," Marissa Dennis commented on Akasha's Facebook post announcing the closure. "It was the perfect venue, the perfect menu, and the beginning of many, many meals sitting at the bar."

"I'm glad I was a small part of it for a short but special time," Matthew Washton commented.

"I met many friends there that [have lasted] until today."