Earlier this month a resident asked in a local Facebook group whether Tomi Sushi Bar on Vaughan Road had "closed short term again, or for good". It now looks like the answer is for good.
The sign is still up and the paper lanterns are still hanging outside, but the red door carries a "Closed" sign and the inside is being stripped out. When we looked in, fixtures were stacked by the entrance and work was under way in the kitchen.
That was a few days ago. By Monday morning the builders were in full swing, with a skip being loaded up and carted away as the big work inside gets going.
The paperwork agrees. Tomi Sushi Bar has dropped off the food hygiene register, which usually means a business has closed or changed hands. Its last rating was a 3, from an inspection in July 2025. We've tried to reach the former owners and haven't heard back.
It's a shame. Tomi was a small, independent spot that gave Harpenden somewhere to go for sushi without a trip to St Albans, and it's yet another valued name gone from the town's dining scene.
A Happier Ending for the Unit
There is good news, though. We understand the unit is being taken by Silver Palate, its neighbour on both sides. Silver Palate's café and restaurant sits on one side and its deli on the other, and until now Tomi sat in the middle like a sushi-shaped gap in a sandwich. With the middle unit, the two halves will be joined into one.
It's the second time Silver Palate has grown along the parade. It started as a deli in 2012 and, by its own account, took the unit next door in 2023. There's no word yet on timing or what the extra space will hold, but regulars will at least no longer need to step outside to get from their eggs to the olive counter. After a run of closures across town, it's good to see a local independent doing well enough to grow. We'll report back when the doors between them open.
Harpenden's Recent Losses
Tomi isn't alone. Other local businesses that have closed or moved away in the past year or so:
- Cinnamon, Thompsons Close: the Indian restaurant tucked behind the High Street. OVEE, a "British Asian" restaurant, is moving in.
- The Meating Room, 5 Station Road: gone from the food hygiene register, with a newcomer, The Perch, now registered at the same address.
- Yeatei, 72 High Street: the Pan-Asian spot lasted about eight months before Grand Trunk Road took over the site.
- Great Wall Chinese Food, 96 High Street: the Chinese takeaway is no longer on the food hygiene register.
- L C Weston's Funeral Directors, 14 Leyton Road: the funeral directors have moved out, and the ground floor has planning permission to become a new shop unit.
- Daniel Craig Hair Salon, 38A High Street: the High Street salon has moved to Place Farm in Wheathampstead.
- Main Hair Gallery, 4 Church Green: the shop is now empty and available to let.