THE owner of Tranent’s only Indian restaurant wants to switch to takeaway only and turn his restaurant into two Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs).

While a well-known pub in Tranent could be about to be bought, the Courier has learnt.

Altaf Khan has had a restaurant on High Street since 1999, renting it out for nine years from 2007 to 2016.

The business was previously called Kashmir Valley, changing to Altaf Khan Restaurant in 2016.

He told the Courier that, at the age of 63, he was beginning to “get too old” to carry on running his restaurant. His two daughters have also taken on other professions and do not want to work in hospitality.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said he had to let several members of staff go and, with only two remaining, and friends and family helping out when needed, Mr Khan cooks the food himself.

Two planning applications have now been submitted to East Lothian Council on Mr Khan’s behalf by Tom Whitelaw from Whitelaw Associates.

The first is to turn the existing restaurant, which can seat 65 people, into two houses, one with three bedrooms and the second with four.

Both homes would share a garden area and be available to rent.

The existing single-storey flat there, pitched roof areas and existing internals would all be removed, with a new separating wall formed, along with the existing gable and part roof to form a new patio.

But rather than get rid of his business entirely, Mr Khan would also like to operate a delivery service by turning three existing parking spaces at the rear of the restaurant, at Well Wynd, into a new kitchen.

The proposed new kitchen would not affect any of the existing flats.

The site, to the rear of the restaurant, currently has 13 parking spaces available: five for the existing flats, two visitor spaces and six for the restaurant.

The plans propose one space per new house, three for the new kitchen and one for a delivery vehicle. The visitor spaces and five for the existing flats would not change.

The only other major change to the appearance of the building would be a new extract flute on the south-east of the existing building.

The proposed new kitchen would have two new walls, both with doors, and a new window. The interior would consist of a wash-up area, extra wash hand basin, toilet, prep area and cooking area.

Mr Khan said that while it was “not easy” for him to potentially say goodbye to the restaurant, he still wanted to carry on the business for his customers rather than get rid of it entirely.

He said: “It is for my customers and regular customers, they come every week, every fortnight or every month.

“Some people I served as children are now bringing in their children.

“It is because of them and I want to help them, allow them to continue enjoying my food and still provide them with a takeaway service.

“I also want to stay in touch with them all, I have had the business for a long time and you get to know everyone, they become like friends and I really enjoy serving them.

“It has been a really difficult past year but I have had great support from all of my customers.”

Meanwhile, Mr Khan remained tight-lipped about rumours of him possibly taking over The Tower Inn (pictured below) on Church Street.

East Lothian Courier: The future of the Tower Inn in Tranent is unclear after it was put up for sale

Estate agents Chris Hart and Co said that the pub was under offer – a ‘for sale’ sign on the corner of the building has been taken down.

There are also plans by a different applicant to bring a new Indian restaurant to Tranent.

The Courier reported in May that plans had been lodged to turn The New Plough Inn on High Street into an Indian restaurant.

They were submitted by Suret Singh, who, along with his brothers, runs the Bombay Lounge on Dalkeith High Street.

No decision on the plans has yet been made.