Gargoyles closing

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I got the official email today:

---

All Good Things Must End

It's with heavy hearts that we must say:

Gargoyles on the Square will be closing its doors after business hours on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011, as it is time for the Conforti family to move on.

We have had a terrific run thanks to wonderful, dedicated staff members and all our loyal customers over the years.
You are all considered a part of the "Gargoyles Family" and we will miss you all.

Thanks for the memories!
James, Pat and John

---

Gargoyles was one of my favorite restaurants, with the crazy food and the fun waitstaff. I'll really miss them.

Comments

[ifotismeni]

awww! that is a shame.

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Ohman. I really want to go to the last Sunday brunch, but it's going to be ridiculous, isn't it?

~Sor

[etana.livejournal.com]

I wanna go to but now I'm nervous...

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Horrible! My favorite spot in Davis. Noooooooooooooooooooooo

[preraphaelite.livejournal.com]

Can somebody find out where the bartenders will be working next? I LOVE that bar beyond all reason.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Strongly seconded. No one - and I mean no one - makes a sidecar as tasty.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

Paul is considering opening his own place in Belmont. He's hopeful, but there's many a slip twixt etc.

[teko.livejournal.com]

If he'd just share his recipe for the Davis Sq Trolley and the Rita Moreno in the meantime, the world would be a better place.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Yeah, worst news I've heard in a long while.

[lldald.livejournal.com]

Terrible, awful, horrible news. Paul recently mentioned something that should have clued me in. I expect we'll see him behind the stick again soon, hopefully not far from Davis, and hopefully with Maureen, Jessica, and others along as well.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

that truly stinks. I did not go there as often as i would have liked, but the few anniversary dinners I have had there were quite tasty and always had me waiting for another special occasion to go again.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

And here's info on the replacement restaurant: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/features/x519373323/Gargoyles-on-the-Square-to-close-in-Somerville-after-16-years#axzz1XsSOSuT4

Painted Burro “a fun neighborhood restaurant that’s based on cuisine from Oaxaca, Mexico.”

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Wow, and here I thought we'd moved on from the burrito joint jokes.

I wonder how serious they are about Oaxacan cuisine vs. generic Americanized tex-mex.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

This.

[real-green-tea.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping this means (a) something more affordable than Gargoyle's (which I could never afford) and (b) fucking awesome empanadas (and other Oaxacan deliciousness that isn't burritos)

[ron_newman]

"...will close after business cards on Sept. 20."

what does that mean?

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I speculate wildly that it was a mistake for "after business hours" which is the phrasing from the email. (presumably to distinguish between "closing at the end of Sept 20" and "does not open on Sept 20")

[ron_newman]

Looks like you were right. The story was later edited and now says this. How the newspaper made such an error in the first place, I can't figure out.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

*throws hissy fit*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I loved this place so much. I can't imagine not having Gargoyles there.

GOODBYE, HOISIN AND HONEY-GLAZED DUCK CONFIT. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU. *sob*

the hoisin duck left the menu with Jason

[radhouse.livejournal.com]

You can still get it - almost exactly the same - at his new place, Blue Inc. But the atmosphere there is totally, totally different. You're not in Davis anymore. I am so sad to see Gargoyle's - and especially Paul and Maureen - leave the Square. I like Posto and am hoping they do great things with the space.

Re: the hoisin duck left the menu with Jason

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I'll have to try that, thanks! I am going to miss Gargoyles still, but I will be happy to get the duck again.

Re: the hoisin duck left the menu with Jason

[ron_newman]

where is Blue Inc. ?

Re: the hoisin duck left the menu with Jason

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

Not too far from the Aquarium.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

well, crap. :(

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

oh, that sucks. they made the best carrot soup i ever had.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Oh how I will miss those waffle fries!

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

I was at Posto yesterday, got the scoop from the manager. Hooray!

Honestly? I thought Gargoyles was mediocre and the idea of good Mexican food is very, very appealing.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Can you share what sort of food they're going to be serving? I was intrigued when I heard they'd be doing Oaxacan cuisine, but the article I read quoted the owner of Posto describing it as "tacos and margaritas", so I'm really hoping it's better than that sounds.

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

It was described to me as traditional Mexican fare, not TexMex. I don't know who the chef is going to be, the owner of Posto is the chef there so I'm assuming it'll be someone else. The manager at Posto said he'd be splitting his time between the two restaurants and was shooting for an "original Mexican" feel for The Painted Burro, with music and drinks.

The people running Posto are awesome, I'm hoping this will translate well to the new space.

He also said that the owner of Gargoyles was done and wanted to move on, so I'm assuming Gargoyles would have closed soon regardless of what will open there in the future.

[molyflogs.livejournal.com]

I wondered if this was coming after Jason Santos left to open up Blue Inc.

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

"After 16 years, a restaurant has to reinvent itself to stay competitive – and in Davis Square that would prove expensive" – Conforti said.


Why is that? If the place is full every night, and the bar is constantly over-packed, why exactly do you need to reinvent yourself?

profits

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

The restaurant business is very hard and even harder for small restaurants. You can be busy all the time or look busy most of the time but if you do not have a favorable lease and good a profit margin you can loose money or make so little that it is not worth it. No successful business that is making good money just closes. I'm sure there where issues behind the scenes.

[wkathym.livejournal.com]

That was the ONLY restaurant in Davis that had a different vibe from all the other restaurants. The Foundry might be OK but it's so LOUD and the food suffers from the manic atmosphere -- it's wildly inconsistent.. I was really hoping some South-End type place might take a chance. Like a casual French Bistro. Or something like Chez Henri. Or some excellent Asian Fusion tapas place. Or even a Highland Kitchen vibe. Putting the food first, not trying to get a bunch of people in for just drinks and so-so food. Is it because there are so many students around? I really think Davis could support an excellent food joint. So is it just too expensive to open a place up in Davis unless a heavy-drinking crowd is factored in?

No title

[pingback-bot.livejournal.com]

User kdsorceress referenced to your post from No title (http://kdsorceress.livejournal.com/607096.html) saying: [...] be getting a copy --I love retellings of old stories! *Hey Cambervillians: Gargoyles is closing [...]

[teko.livejournal.com]

A quick FYI: they just told me over the phone that while they'd planned on being open until the 20th, they "ran out of food and staff last night", so they're closed for good. Sigh.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Sad - was going to go there for one last drink tonight.