Why a 3-year adoption journey prompted Guru's owners to hit pause on their Newtown eatery
For three years now, Priya Guru and Ashni Kumar have been pulled between two continents to care for their Newtown restaurant and the two girls in India they hope to adopt.
But the time came when the couple knew they had to sacrifice one to save the other.
Guru’s Indian Cuisine, their restaurant on Sycamore Street in the borough, would need to close for a short time while they focus on what has turned out to be a very difficult adoption process.
“As many of you know, we are in the midst of bringing our two beautiful daughters home from India. The adoption process, initiated in early 2020, has been an arduous three-year endeavor, demanding extensive travel and enduring emotional and financial challenges. Thus, we’ve resolved to pause our restaurant operations to dedicate our undivided attention to ensuring a smooth transition for our growing family,” Guru posted Friday on Facebook.
The restaurant’s last day will be Jan. 7 with hopes of returning in the spring, she said.
After nine years in business, the decision to close, even for a short time, was not an easy one to make. Finding themselves at odds with bureaucratic barriers, which essentially brought the adoption process to a halt eight months ago, Guru said it was time they put all their energy into what mattered most.
“We had to ask ourselves which family will be OK without us, the restaurant or these children. And we knew we needed to focus on the children,” she said.
“Once I hold a hand, I don’t give up,” said Guru, who’s steadfast in her determination to provide a safe upbringing for 8-year-old Riddhima and 9-year-old Aradhya, two sisters who were nearly sold into child labor before Guru’s family stepped in.
“When I first met them, the malnutrition, the trauma, the fear these girls had gone through was terrible. They had never even been to school,” she said.
“The biological grandparents were thinking about selling the girls to the hotel industry.”
Newtown couple on a mission to bring their girls home from India
After closing the restaurant, the couple will travel back to India, so Guru can live with the Riddhima and Aradhya, while trying to expedite the adoption with the help of an attorney.
Since 2020, the girls have been in the care of Guru’s family members living in India.
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If all goes well, Guru said she hopes to return with the girls by February.
“My one unsung hero in all of this is Ashni. My biggest strength is him and the support and love of the community,” Guru said.
Once back in the U.S., Kumar and Guru will take some time with the girls, helping them to transition into their new home, enroll them in school and be together as a family.
They look forward to sharing simple moments together, the little things missed out on when separated by thousands of miles — jumping on a trampoline, eating doughnuts and sipping hot chocolate, going to soccer practices and swim lessons, watching movies, making pancakes, and having sleepovers with friends.
“I’m learning little by little how to be their mom. They taught me how to be patient, how to have faith, how to believe,” Guru said. “We all found our home in each other.”
Guru’s Indian Cuisine to host celebration before closing its doors
Before closing its doors, Guru’s Indian Cuisine invites the community to a “So Long for Now” celebration on Wednesday, Jan. 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Guru hopes the gathering will be a show of gratitude to a community that openly welcomed the couple and their business from the beginning, and more recently, supported them on their adoption journey.
“I’ll get to see all my customers and get all my hugs in before I go,” she said. “I didn’t expect anything, but the last few weeks when I told the community what we are going to do, I can’t explain in words. Newtown has not only welcomed me as one of their own, but Newtown is fighting for me as if you’d fight for your own child.”
Tickets can be purchased online or at the door for $20 with the proceeds going to benefit Guru’s Guardian Angels, a nonprofit founded by Guru and Kumar with a mission to save and improve the lives of stray animals around the world.
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Go: 203 N. Sycamore St., Newtown; 215-968-5700; gurusnewtown.com
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Guru's in Newtown to close temporarily, while owners focus on adoption
