LaV Is Now Closed

LaV, the upscale Provencal-inspired restaurant on East 7th, is now closed. The last day of service was the party on New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31. Owner Ralph Eads, who still owns the space, said in a statement:

While we are extremely proud of what we've accomplished since opening, we've come to see that it's not fiscally feasible to continue to operate laV at its current level. Rather than cutting corners or providing an experience that doesn't hold up to the high standards we've set for ourselves, we've decided to close the restaurant.

The shutter announcement came on the heels of the whirl of staff departures last year, including the original superstar trio of executive chef Allison Jenkins, wine director and partner Vilma Mazaite, and executive chef Janina O’Leary. Jenkins took leave in June. Then Mazaite downgraded her involvement to consulting in October. Shortly after, O’Leary and her husband Sean, who took over as interim executive chef this year, both left to pursue other ventures. Just this week, bar manager Casey Petty joined the new Barley Swine’s bar team on Burnet.

This is seemingly shutter week in Austin, with the closing of Congress on New Year’s Eve, too, and Barley Swine on South Lamar tonight. Future plans for LaV, which opened in March 2014, are not known yet.