The House of India restaurant will close temporarily to “preserve the health and wellbeing” of staff members who have been without a vacation for two years.

The Indian restaurant in Pembroke issued a notice to the public apologising for the closure, explaining that owing to visa challenges, staff have worked without a break since returning after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The restaurant will be closed from May 22 until July 12.

The restaurant’s announcement said: “We would like to take this time to inform all our loyal patrons that we are facing unprecedented challenges bringing in our additional staff to join our team at House of India, hence we have been working with a skeleton staff for almost two years.

“Besides having several new work permits, our new recruits are unable to join us due to several failed attempts to obtain transit visas for the UK or USA. Some work permits expired before they could join our team.

“[The] majority of our staff have not been on vacation since we opened after Covid-19 and have been working almost two years full on without any vacation and time off, which they desperately need as soon as possible to preserve their health and wellbeing.”

The restaurant said it had been a difficult decision as it did not wish to disappoint its customers but added that “the health and welfare of our staff must come first”.

The notice continued: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to you and look forward to your continued support when we reopen with the same smile and delicious food at our award-winning restaurant, House of India.”