Graham Elliot Closing At End Of Year

By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 8, 2013 4:20PM

Chef Graham Elliot's celebrity career is doing just fine, but unfortunately his restaurants don't seem to be keeping up. First Grahamwich, once at the vanguard of an imaginary national sandwich chain, gave up the ghost earlier this year. Now Elliot has announced that his eponymous restaurant (and main HQ) will be closing at the end of 2013.

The current spin is that Graham Elliot will be closing for "reconcepting." But the Tribune reports that whatever comes next, it won't be at the same location. Normally, when you leave a space vacant, it's called "closing." Elliot put a positive spin on things:

"This space is 6,000 square feet. When we first opened (as a more casual concept) we were doing 300 covers. Now we're capping our reservations at 60, but it's not the same experience coming into a room that looks empty."

Even though they're "capping" reservations," anyone who spends time on Open Table knows that Graham Elliot is almost always an easy last-minute reservation to get and it has been a while since the spot was on anyone's hot list. It's a shame, since we've had several good experiences there, though we must admit it's been over a year since we've stepped inside the place.

Is G.E.B., which opened to mediocre reviews and is similarly not often full, going to be next? It's anyone's guess. Elliot is planning to re-open a smaller version of Graham Elliot in 2014. The last day of service will be New Year's Eve.