There has been another summer food and drink closure on Capitol Hill but this one may not be the end for the restaurant involved.
Restaurant Marron has closed its doors in Capitol Hill’s Loveless Building just a little more than two years after bringing its $$$$ tasting menu format with 16-course, small-bite creations to E Roy.
“The goal is always to keep this as neighborhood a restaurant as possible,” chef and owner Eric Sakai told CHS at the time. “We never wanted to be just that special occasion place.”
(Images: Restaurant Marron)
Beyond neighborly intentions, Eric and wife Zarina Sakai put on a nightly two-person show pushing one of the most expensive restaurants on Capitol Hill to meet lofty expectations.
The couple met at The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park before careers and opportunities took them to Hawaii, the legendary French Laundry in Yountville, and, eventually, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. After searching America for the right city to build their dream restaurant in, Sakai said Seattle won them over. Together with Altura, which opened in 2011 a block up Broadway from the Loveless, Marron represented Capitol Hill’s clearest pocket of “fine dining.”
We’ve asked for more information about the closure on Capitol Hill and the brief “we’ve moved” message on the restaurant’s website that teases a new life in a new location. A quick perusal of license and permit applications doesn’t reveal a new Marron in the works anywhere near Seattle at this time. We’re hoping to find out where the Sakai’s food and drink wanderings will bring them next.
I hope that whatever fills the space next, the owners of the space think about how they can protect those wonderful murals from wear and tear. There must be minimally intrusive measures that will protect them from contact and light but allow them to stay visible.
I love(d) Marron. Every meal we had there was fantastic and memorable, but the price point was such that it could not be “in the rotation” as a regular spot for dinner. I hope they do find another venue for their amazing food.
It would be great if the next tenant that occupies that space can create a concept that both meets a price point, and has enough menu variety to be conducive to local residents eating there regularly. A little bistro where you could pop in for a glass of wine, and a salad, or a full meal without breaking the bank.